Amnesia
by Andy'sGirl4485
Summary: Draco has amnesia, but it's Hermione who will never be the same. Romance, danger, mischievousness, a lemon or two, and a happy ending!
1. Chapter 1

**Harry Potter and all of it's settings and characters belong to JK Rowling**

**Another strange dream assaulted me and this is where it lead. =) In my dream Draco had amnesia and was very adamantly trying to impress Hermione. This struck me as hilarious and so I decided to try it out. Hope you enjoy it!**

XXX

As the three friends made their way to the hospital wing, one turned to the others.

"What do you suppose Dumbledore wants?" Ron asked his companions.

"I don't know." Hermione responded, "Harry, do you have an idea what this is about?" The boy who lived shook his head. "Well, then I guess we'll find out in a moment."

Hermione preceded the boys into the hospital wing and saw Malfoy in one of the beds talking to Dumbledore. He looked to be in mid-sentence when he turned and spotted them. She expected a sneer, or for him to turn away dismissively, so she was wholly unprepared for the way his silver gaze locked onto her with stunned appreciation.

_What is he playing at? _she thought suspiciously. He turned back to Dumbledore and seemed to be asking a question. Whatever the answer was it didn't seem to please him as a scowl clouded his features, morphing his face into a more recognizable version of itself. Another question. Another scowl. Dumbledore, however, seemed quite pleased by the conversation. Finally, they were close enough to be included in the discussion.

Malfoy's eyes met hers and the intensity of his gaze caused Hermione's breathing to become slightly erratic. _What on earth is going on? _Then he spoke and his words exponentially increased her respiratory problems.

"I do not yet have the pleasure of knowing your name, Angel," Malfoy said, "but I have to tell you that you are exquisite."

Harry's jaw dropped. Ron looked thoroughly confused. Hermione just froze.

His gaze dropped to her lips as if he were entranced and suddenly breathing was no longer an issue. It simply ceased altogether. Her heart stuttered for a moment and she felt a blush heat her face. _From the shock,_ she thought wildly, _Definitely a shock induced reaction._

A fluttering sensation in her stomach ensued as if to mock her thoughts.

"Yes, quite." Dumbledore said and it wasn't quite clear whether he was responding to their astonishment or Malfoy's statement. "We think he hit his head rather hard..." Ron tried to contain a snicker and Hermione regained her senses enough to glare at him.

"Not the you aren't!" Ron backtracked quickly, wide eyed, "It's just... It's Malfoy!" He gestured towards the boy on the hospital bed as if that was explanation enough.

Hermione rolled her eyes and used the interruption to try and tame the wild flutters. _Ok, so maybe having Malfoy call you beautiful and look at you like he would love nothing more than to kiss you is affecting you a bit, _she admitted to herself, _but quit being ridiculous! He's delirious. Besides the fact that even if he were in full command of his senses he should most assuredly _not_ cause you to flutter. He's an egomaniacal, possibly evil, most definitely arrogant, foul, loathsome git! _She mentally squared her shoulders and willed the feeling away.

"As I was saying," Dumbledore went on, "We think he hit his head rather hard as he has no idea who he, or anyone else for that matter, is. He will have to stay in the hospital wing for a day or two and I want you three to visit him."

"What!?" Ron exploded, "Are you mad?"

Hermione, of course, knew exactly what Dumbledore was up to. She glanced at Harry and saw that he understood as well. It was a fierce argument between members of the Order as to whether Malfoy was truly his father's son or being forced to act as his father expected. Dumbledore was firmly on the side that he, if given a proper choice, would defect. Most of the other members staunchly rejected the idea of even making the offer as they thought he would simply turn around a betray them. It had been going on for months and finally there could be a definite answer. If Malfoy proved to have the same wretched personality and skewed stand on the issues when he had no memory, then Dumbledore would have to back down. _But if not..._ Hermione really couldn't wrap her head around that thought so she pushed it away.

"We understand, Professor." she said and met his eyes.

"I knew you would." the headmaster smiled fondly at her and turned to leave.

"Wait just a minute!" sputtered Ron, "I don't understand at all!"

Dumbledore just waved his hand dismissively and continued towards the door. "Never fear, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger will explain it to you. Good day to you all!"

XXX

Draco watched the old man leave and pondered the events of the past few moments. Dumbledore had been explaining to him how he'd fallen from his broomstick -_I must have heard that part wrong, _he'd thought- and suffered a concussion. "Madam Pomfrey will asses the damage and fix you right up. Please come to my office when you are released so I can give you all of the assignments you have missed today."

Draco was silent for a moment as he studied the man in front of him. "I'm going to assume Madam Pomfrey is the nurse," he said slowly as the realization that he had no memory of where or who he was settled in, "but I'm afraid it will be rather difficult to make my way to your office as I have no idea who you are."

Shock and something else... anticipation?... crossed Dumbledore's face but he recovered quickly. "Will you excuse me for just a moment?" he said and strode out into the hall. Draco remembered thinking he was an odd sort of man and the conversation that occurred when he returned did nothing to change that impression.

"Alright Draco, your name is Draco by the way," he began, "I am Albus Dumbledore and I'm the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry-"

"Witchcraft and what now? Is this some sort of joke?" Draco interrupted angrily.

"No joke my boy," Dumbledore responded and promptly transfigured the bed next to him into a rather large bowl of candies. "Would you like one?" he asked casually and popped one in his mouth, "The green ones are a little strange, I've never been able to get those quite right, but the rest are quite tasty."

Draco struggled to hide his surprise and maintain a calm outward appearance. Silently, he began to take stock of his thoughts since he woke. Strange incantations and odd sounding words had been flitting about in his head and they hadn't made sense... until now. If he decided to believe what the old man was telling him then those would be spells. _Well, _he thought, _no better way to test this insane theory than to try one. _He chose one at random, only slightly concerned with what it might do, raised his hand... and stopped.

He stared at his hand for a moment.

"Missing something?" Dumbledore asked with a small knowing smile.

"Yes," Draco said, starting to think maybe the old man wasn't entirely crazy, "I feel like I should be holding something... a wand? Do I have a wand?"

"Indeed you do my boy." Dumbledore replied and pulled one out from the bedside table, "Here you are. Now you can go ahead and test your theory that I am a crazy old fool." He winked and handed the wand over. "But if you would, please tell me which spell you chose to test so I can decide if it will be appropriate to perform in our current location. Madam Pomfrey would not appreciate a hippopotamus galavanting around her hospital wing and I know Professor Flitwick is rather fond of that charm."

Draco looked at his wand a little apprehensively. _Hippopotamus?_

"I was going to say 'Lumos'. Does that do anything... inappropriate?"

"No, I think that will be perfect. Just hold up your wand and say it with feeling."

Draco looked at his wand again. _Here goes nothing. _"**Lumos!**"

A bright glow began to emanate from the tip and Draco looked from it to the smiling headmaster.

"To make it stop you say-"

"**Nox!**" The light vanished and Draco smiled. "Well I guess you aren't a crazy old fool."

Dumbledore erupted in laughter. "Not entirely, my boy," he said between chuckles, "Not entirely."

He then went on to explain to Draco about Hogwarts. The houses, the classes, the professors. Draco discovered he had an adequate mind as he quickly absorbed all the information Dumbledore bestowed upon him and tucked it away for future use. Information was essential for plotting. The thought made him pause. _Plotting?... Yes..._ The thought began to form more solidly, _I plot! _He got a strong impression that he was rather good at plotting and usually managed to maneuver any situation to his advantage without anyone even knowing he had interfered. _I bet that makes me-_

"Am I a Slytherin?"

"Very good!" Dumbledore exclaimed, "You are indeed a Slytherin. Not only that but you are Head Boy which makes you top Slytherin, second only to Professor Snape."

The idea of being best settled very nicely with him and he gathered that he usually strived to be the best at everything. He started to ask what being Head Boy entailed when _she_ walked in.

The question died half way through and he could do nothing but stare at the magnificent creature walking towards him. She had long softly curling brown hair that he wanted to run his hands through and even from a distance he could tell her eyes were a decadent shade of chocolate. He had a strong urge to see those eyes glaze over with desire. For him.

_Mine._ The strength of that thought startled him. _Is she mine? _For some reason he didn't think so and he wanted to know why. So he could rectify the situation.

"Who is that?" he asked, hoping to get the nature of their relationship established before she made her way over. Dumbledore redirected his attention to the doorway and his eyes sparkled merrily when he spied the object of Draco's adoration. "That would be Miss Granger." he said and Draco would swear he sounded almost smug.

"Is she here for me?" _Please let her be here for me._

"Yes, but not in the way you are thinking." Dumbledore replied with a smile. Draco was about to press him for more details but stopped when he finally noticed the two boys walking on either side of her. The one on her right had messy black hair and glasses. The one on her left had bright red hair and seemed a little too tall for his level of coordination. A horrible notion crept into his mind and a surge of jealousy shot through him at the thought that the angel might belong to one of them.

"Is she with them?" he asked and Dumbledore seemed to catch his hidden question.

"Yes, but not in the way you are thinking." That maddening smile had Draco scowling.

"You are beginning to annoy me old man." The smile deepened.

"Yes, I know!" Any reply Draco might have made was halted by the fact that the enchantress had finally arrived at his bedside. He decided a direct approach was called for in this situation.

"I do not yet have the pleasure of knowing your name, Angel," he said, "but I have to tell you that you are exquisite."

Draco took heart at the blush that crept over her features but the others' reactions left much to be desired. The one with the glasses looked like he was trying to swallow a fish and the red head looked rather perplexed. _What is the matter with those two?_ He spared them only a moment of thought before returning to the lovely blushing face of his angel. His gaze dropped to her lips and he had an overwhelming urge to pull her closer and discover what she tasted like.

"Yes, quite." He heard the headmaster say. _At least the old man has some sense._ "We think he hit his head rather hard-"

Ginger snickered and Draco decided he didn't particularly like the boy. The girl glared at him and he clumsily tried to salvage the situation. "Not the you aren't!" the boy said "It's just... It's Malfoy!" He gestured towards Draco as if that was some sort of explanation. _What is a Malfoy? _Draco wondered, _And why would being one have anything to do with being able to recognize the stunning beauty of the girl in front of me? Obviously, the red head makes no sense. I'll have to make a note of that._

"As I was saying," Dumbledore continued, "We think he hit his head rather hard as he has no idea who he, or anyone else for that matter, is. He will have to stay in the hospital wing for a day or two and I want you three to visit him."

"What!?" Red exploded, "Are you mad?"

Draco didn't have time to be offended as he caught the look that passed between his angel and the boy with the glasses.

"We understand Professor." she said and exchanged another look, this time with the headmaster.

_Odd that, _Draco thought trying to figure out how visiting him in the hospital was something that needed to be understood.

"I knew you would." Dumbledore smiled and turned to leave.

"Wait just a minute!" sputtered Freckles, "I don't understand at all!"

The headmaster just waved his hand dismissively and continued towards the door. "Never fear, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger will explain it to you. Good day to you all!" And then he was gone.

After elbowing the red head and whispering, "Shut up, Ron!" when he made as if to protest again, the girl turned to him and smiled hesitantly.

"I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." _Hermione...Hermione..._ He tried to remember saying her name to see if he could get a feeling on how they normally interacted and came up completely blank. Either he didn't normally interact with her, which seemed highly unlikely given his attraction to her, or his memory was really just too far gone at the moment. "This is Ron Weasley," she gestured first toward the red head, "and Harry Potter." The boy with the glasses.

Draco had a sudden flash of memory at that name. Someone very powerful... and very evil wanted this boy dead. He was filled with the instinct to prevent that at all costs, even to the extent of giving his own life. He could hear a woman... his mother... telling him that if Harry Potter failed, their world would be plunged into eternal terror and death. Harry Potter was important somehow and the reason almost emerged in his mind before it slipped away. It was a bit unsettling to realize that you were willing to die for someone you didn't even know. He pushed the thoughts away for future study and turned his attention back to Hermione.

"Did Dumbledore tell you who you are?" she asked.

"Yes. Well... sort of. I know my name is Draco but he didn't tell me my last name. I know that I am a Slytherin and Head Boy but other than that I am completely at a loss."

"It's Malfoy." she replied, "You're Draco Malfoy."

_Ahh _he thought, _so that's what the Weasley boy was referring to. Apparently there's something about my family that causes him to believe I should be cursed with bad eyesight. _He made a note to look into that later.

"Are we friends?" He directed the question to Hermione and adjusted his tone just slightly to give the impression he was asking about more than friendship. That charming blush appeared again but she shook her head.

"No," she said in a slightly breathy tone and then made a point of steadying herself, "I suppose we could have been, if circumstances were different." Harry Potter nudged her with his elbow and she started. "I mean... because of the... house rivalries and all. We're Gryffindors." She motioned to herself and her companions.

He breathed a mental sigh of relief. If that was all that was standing between them he could surely overcome something so trifling. "Let me assure you that in your case," he took her hand, "I feel absolutely no rivalry." He looked into her eyes as he brought her hand to his lips. Weasley snickered again but any annoyance he might have felt was swept away by Hermione's sharp intake of breath and the awareness that momentarily flashed in her eyes.

XXX

Hermione was breathless for the second time that day and it was disturbing for more than one reason. The first being that she could not think of a single time in her life that she had been afflicted with this particular feeling, and the second being that it was Malfoy who was making her feel it. Even logically knowing it was wrong didn't diminish it. She stood mesmerized by all the different shades of grey swirling in his intensely beautiful eyes. _How could I not have noticed that before?_

"Umm... Hermione?" Harry's voice broke the spell and she quickly pulled her hand from Malfoy's grasp. It seemed she was doomed to wear a perpetual blush for the near future.

"Right, well, I'm glad that we can be... friends." She managed to speak with only a slight tremor to betray her inner turmoil, "We should be going if we are going to make it to class on time. We'll be back before dinner tonight." She turned to leave hastily and was stopped by his words.

"Have a pleasant day, Hermione." The sound of her name coming from his lips in that sinfully seductive tone almost unraveled her. She held her composure only because she could see Ron preparing to explode from the pressure of trying to keep quiet as she'd asked and she knew they had to get out of there.

"Have a pleasant day, M-" she barely caught herself in time, "Draco."

XXX

Draco watched her walk away and thought his head injury might be the best thing that had ever happened to him.

XXX

"What in the name of Merlin's beard is going on?!" Ron exclaimed when they made it out of the hospital wing. Harry decided to answer as Hermione didn't even seem to be listening.

"Malfoy's lost his memory, Ron."

"Yes I gathered that, but why does Dumbledore want us to visit him and why is he eyeing Hermione as if she were his favorite treat?" That woke Hermione up.

"Don't you see?" she said, "If Malfoy has no memory we can finally get a definite answer to the question of who he truly is. If he's innately evil he won't act any differently than he normally does. If not... we'll see." She deliberately avoided his second question.

"Dumbledore wants us to figure out if he can be turned to our side." Ron said, finally understanding the magnitude of the opportunity.

"Yes, and it's going to take some planning to make this work," she replied, "We need to talk to Dumbledore before we go to class. Under the circumstances, I'm sure he'll give us a note."


	2. Chapter 2

Draco thought it was ridiculous that he was forced to stay in the hospital. He felt perfectly fine if you discounted the whole memory loss aspect. There was no escaping though.

He'd tried to slip away when the nurse went to lunch and as soon as he made it to the door he found himself immediately back in bed. So, since it seemed he was stuck here until they deemed it appropriate to release him, he turned his thoughts to his current situation.

It struck him as odd that Dumbledore had sent those three to visit him. Hermione had admitted they weren't friends. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate to send some of his friends? Surely he had friends. He let out a groan of frustration. It was increasingly irritating to not be able to remember something as simple as if he had any friends or not. And what about his family? Wouldn't they want to know that he had amnesia? They would be the perfect people to help him regain his memory as they would know everything about him. A horrible idea struck him. What if he had no family?

_No, that couldn't be true, _he thought with a bit of relief, _I remembered my mother for a moment so at least I have her. _His mother. He knew she was kind and that she loved him from the warmth that settled over him when he thought of her. His mother had told him that Harry Potter needed to succeed or the world as they knew it would end. But what was he trying to do? Who wanted him dead? The lack of information was thoroughly unsettling so he decided to concentrate on what he did know.

And what he knew for absolute certain was that he wanted Hermione Granger.

He had no one in his memory to compare her to, but he instinctively felt that even if he met every witch in the world there would be none better. The feelings she stirred in him felt familiar, as if he'd felt them for a while but a strange urge to suppress them kept stepping in. It didn't make any sense to him. Why would he want to suppress this?

Weasley's statement that him being a Malfoy was cause for the shock that they expressed at his complement was eating at him. Was there something wrong with his family? Was there some sort of feud he was unaware of like in Romeo and Juliet? The thought almost made him smile as he pictured defying his parents and running away to get married, minus the whole dying part of course. But that just didn't fit with the picture he had of his mother. He was sure she would love Hermione. Maybe it was his father? A dark dread settled over him as he tried to think of his father. _Now that, _he mused, _is something I will have to investigate carefully._

XXX

"Sir, how are we supposed to keep his friends away so they can't ruin everything?" Hermione stood in the headmaster's office gazing almost longingly at the books behind his desk. She forced herself to concentrate on the matter at hand. "For that matter how are we going to keep him from his parents? Everyone will be leaving for Christmas tomorrow and I'm sure he wasn't planning on spending his holiday in the hospital wing."

"As always, Miss Granger, you have cut right to the heart of the matter." Dumbledore said fondly, "Those are precisely the questions I was asking myself after I sent for you. As to the first, I have declared the hospital wing off limits to visitors. It is not completely unusual and as long as the three of you are not seen coming and going it shouldn't cause a problem." He paused before addressing the next concern. "As to the second, I was rather hoping you could find a way to convince him to stay here at the castle for Christmas. None of the other Slytherins are on the list to stay and that would solve both problems."

Harry and Hermione shared another look but Ron was, again, oblivious.

"Why would he want to stay here?" he asked, "And what good would it do to leave him wandering around on his own?"

"Well, I was actually hoping that he wouldn't be alone." Dumbledore replied and a look of horror encompassed Ron's face.

"What, you mean us?"

"I realize it is a lot to ask of you to give up your holidays but we may never get a chance like this again. It is, in my opinion, of the upmost importance to figure out on which side Mr. Malfoy truly belongs."

Ron looked to his friends for support but saw the resigned looks on their faces and started grumbling something that sounded like, "Stupid Malfoy." Hermione took pity on him and spoke up.

"Sir, I don't think it's necessary for all of us to stay," she said, "The boys should go to the burrow and enjoy their Christmas. I'm sure I can handle looking after Malfoy on my own." Ron's face lit up at the same time that Harry's darkened.

"That's a great idea!"

"Absolutely not!"

They said simultaneously.

"Hermione, I am not leaving you here alone with him." Harry continued, "What if he regains his memory and decides to take some sort of revenge on you? I'm staying." He gave Ron a pointed look that the red headed boy promptly ignored.

"Right then," Ron interjected happily, "Harry can stay and I'll go home. Glad we got that settled."

"Your concern for my safety is touching, Ronald." Hermione said dryly.

"Oh, come on, Hermione," Ron pleaded his case, "Harry is perfectly capable of protecting you from even a completely mental Malfoy. If I thought for a moment that you would actually be in danger then I'd stick to you like glue, you know that. Besides, even without a memory he didn't seem too fond of me. I don't think I would have been much good to you here anyway."

"He didn't did he?" she said and a small laugh escaped, "It probably had something to do you with you shouting that Professor Dumbledore was mad for asking us to visit him." Ron had the decency to look sheepish.

"Well how was I supposed to know it was part of a plot? Although I suppose I probably should have guessed," Ron grumbled and turned to the headmaster, "You do plot an awful lot Professor."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily. "Indeed I do, my boy. Now, I believe we have resolved all of our immediate issues. I will leave it up to you to decide the best way to persuade Mr. Malfoy to remain here for the holidays." He gave Hermione a mischievous wink before handing them a note to Professor Snape and dismissing them.

XXX

"Absolutely not!" Hermione whispered emphatically, "It's unethical and I won't do it!" She glared at her best friend across the potions table as she cut up the mandrake root for their potion.

"It's the best way, Hermione." Harry quietly tried to reason with her.

"I don't care. I have no idea why Malfoy was acting the way he was towards me, but I will not try to use my 'feminine wiles' as you put it, against him. He's going to be mortified as it is when he regains his memory and I will not assist you in making it worse." She scooped the chopped mandrake root into the cauldron and began to stir. "We'll think of another way." _We have to think of another way, _Hermione thought a tad desperately, _because I'm not sure I would survive that. _

While she did feel morally repulsed by the idea of tricking Malfoy into going along with their plan by pretending to like him, that was not the only reason she was objecting. She had a sinking feeling it would stop being pretend if she allowed herself to get that close to him right now. As ridiculous as the whole situation was, she could not get the way his eyes had looked as he kissed her hand out of her head, and try as she might, there was no escaping the fact that it was affecting her. A lot.

Draco Malfoy had always been handsome but it was an easy thing to ignore given his erstwhile personality flaws. Besides that, he had never before turned his considerable charm in her direction. She had heard things of course. Many of the girls at school gushed over him but she had thought them quite muddle-headed. How could you possibly find someone attractive who treated you like dirt?

But this new Draco Malfoy was most definitely _not _treating her like dirt and now the attraction was much more difficult to ignore. She could not allow herself to fall any deeper into this madness.

Checking the consistency of their potion and deciding it was finished, she bottled a few tablespoons and placed it on the edge of the table. "I mean it, Harry. I won't do it."

"All right, Hermione," Harry surrendered, "but you'd better think of something fast."

The end of the day's lessons approached and she still had no idea what she was going to do. Following Harry and Ron as they made their way up to the hospital wing, she started to panic a bit. When they reached the door they looked around to be sure no one was around and then stepped inside. _How I am supposed to ask him to stay here for Christmas?_ she thought frantically.

XXX

Draco was trying to open his mind and force his memories to surface. _Come on, open!_ he thought and pictured his mind completely unbarred. A word surfaced that seemed very familiar to him and he had an urge to try it out. _Legilimens._ It kept running through his head as he was reaching for his wand and suddenly he heard Hermione's voice. _How I am supposed to ask him to stay here for Christmas?_

He looked up in surprise and saw her entering the hospital wing much too far away to have actually spoken. He schooled his features into a calm mask as his thoughts ran wild. _What on earth was that? _Suddenly, the memory of that word clicked into place and he knew he had just read her mind. _Useful bit of magic, that is, _he thought, _and I didn't even say it out loud. _He looked at his wand still sitting on the nightstand. O_r use my wand. _

He had a feeling that wasn't very common and decided to see what the extent of his ability was later. As the three walked toward him he pondered the query he had pulled from Hermione's head. He had no doubt that he was the "him" in question and he decided that he liked the idea of staying here with her for Christmas.

While he wanted to see his mother, he still couldn't figure out the reason for his aversion to his father. He had a very strong feeling that it wouldn't be wise to come face to face with the man before he did so and this seemed to be an ideal solution. He would have a reason to avoid his father and the perfect opportunity to convince Hermione that she wanted to belong to him.

He tried to keep his smile from looking smug.

"Thank you for returning, Angel," Draco said and took a moment to enjoy her blush before nodding in greeting to the two boys flanking her, "Harry, Ron. I was starting to go a bit mad cooped up in here by myself." He ignored the urge to call them Potter and Weasley but now wondered if he had made a mistake. Potter (it just seemed so much more natural to think of him that way) at least made an effort to smile normally but Weasley had a slightly shocked expression on his face.

"Is there a reason you're looking at me as though I just suggested you kiss a blast ended screwt?" he asked and discovered that sarcasm suited him.

Hermione covertly (or so she thought) stepped on Ron's foot and tried to diffuse the situation. "It's just because you called them Harry and Ron." said quickly, "You usually use their last names. It's kind of a... thing between you."

"Ahh," Draco replied, "Truthfully, I did have an inclination to call them Potter and Weasley but I pushed it aside as I thought it a bit rude. However, if you say that is how we normally interact then I will do so." He could almost feel her relief. "But if you try to tell me that is how I normally interact with you," he continued, "then I will have to respectfully decline to revert to my former habits. I think Angel suits you much better."

He smiled and had to resist the desire to read her mind again as a thoroughly flustered Hermione bit her lip and looked to be trying to think of an appropriate response. He took pity on her and changed the subject. There would be plenty of time later to get her used to the fact that he would not be giving up his pursuit.

"I am having a problem I was hoping you could solve for me." he said, "Are students permitted to stay here at Hogwarts for the holidays or are we required to return home? I find that I'm not really up to trying to spend Christmas with parents I don't remember." He had to resist the urge to smile as her eyes widened momentarily. She recovered quickly and he had to give her credit as he wouldn't have noticed the reaction if he hadn't been looking for it.

"Students are allowed to stay if they choose," she replied, "I myself will be staying. You just have to owl your parents by midnight tonight so your name will be taken off of the train list."

"Good. I'll do that then." he paused, "Exactly how does one owl their parents? And how would said owling let them know I want to stay here?"

XXX

Hermione smiled at the confused expression on Malfoy's face. He reminded her of when she had to learn all of this for the first time and how strange it all had seemed. "Just write them a letter and I'll take care of it." She pulled a bit of parchment and a quill from her bag and waited while he wrote.

When he finished, he looked at it oddly for a moment and then grabbed his wand and sealed it magically. "Ha!" He looked thoroughly pleased with himself and she couldn't help but giggle.

His eyebrow lifted in mock outrage, "Do you find me amusing?" Hermione had only a fraction of a second of warning as a devious light entered his eyes and then his arm snaked around her waist and he hauled her into his lap.

The look of horror on Harry and Ron's faces would have been priceless if she had been able to see them.

Her eyes were glued to the silvery orbs just inches from her own and she once again had to remind herself to breath. His arms were wrapped around her waist as if to halt an attempt to escape but that was the last thing on her mind. She could feel his heartbeat under her palm and the elevated pace seemed to match her own.

"If you're going to laugh at me, Angel," he breathed in her ear and a delicate shiver ran down her spine, "at least have the courtesy to do it from here. I'll take it much better that way." A wolfish grin graced his features and he lifted her back to her feet as if she weighed no more than a feather. "Something to remember for next time."

The trembling that plagued her knees was drastically compromising her balance and she swayed a bit on her feet. Ron cleared his throat loudly and Hermione's eyes widened as she realized she had forgotten the other two boys were even in the room. "Yes... well..." she smoothed her hands down over her stomach and fought to compose herself, "I think it's time to go... to dinner. Yes, I'm almost positive we will be late for dinner if we don't leave. Now."

Harry said goodnight and Ron nodded in an approximation of a cordial farewell, all the while still looking at her as if she'd gone a bit mad. Malfoy was the only one who seemed blissfully unaffected by what he'd done and he bid them both goodnight before turning his gaze to her. After a moment of simply staring at him she felt someone, she thought it was Harry, elbow her gently and she realized she was supposed to say something.

"Oh! Umm... goodnight, Draco." Hermione was proud of the fact that her voice was only slightly higher than normal. "We'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Angel," Draco's smile turned just a bit wicked and her heart fluttered, "Sweet dreams."


	3. Chapter 3

"Sweet dreams, indeed!" Hermione muttered grumpily into her pillow.

Early morning light filtered in through the window of her beautifully appointed private quarters, covering everything with a soft golden glow. The gilded edges of the books in her own personal library sparkled, and the ink bottles in every color imaginable lined up across her writing desk created a kaleidoscope of reflected light.

There were definite advantages to being Head Girl, but after spending an entirely sleepless night she found it hard to appreciate them as she normally did. Well, except for maybe her private bathroom. _Without which, _she thought as she dragged herself out of bed and made her way to, _I would be grumpy, confused, _and_ having to deal with all of the ridiculous grooming habits of my peers. _

The extent of Hermione's beauty regimen included running a comb through her hair (which had thankfully started to calm down after her fourteenth birthday and now hung in waves of loose curls instead of the imitation of an electrocuted cat it had been in her youth) and applying a bit of lipgloss. Some of the things she had seen other girls her age do just to get ready for school went far beyond what Hermione considered normal behavior.

Lavender Brown, for instance, applied a green paste that looked remarkably like goblin nasal secretions to her face for twenty minutes every morning. She looked like some sort of demented sea creature. Hermione laughed at the memory and was grateful for the momentary distraction it provided.

Being attracted to Draco Malfoy was not something she was prepared to deal with.

It was up there on the list of things she would never _ever_ have imagined herself doing. Right next to becoming a star quiddich player and slow dancing with a Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

_This has to stop, _she thought for probably the thousandth time over the course of the very long night.

Images of her and Malfoy entwined in seriously inappropriate positions had assaulted her every time she closed her eyes.

Hence her uncharacteristic insomnia.

She had tried everything to expel the disturbing thoughts but they just kept getting worse. She tried to console herself with the fact that it was just a fleeting physical attraction.

_Yes, _she thought, _I'm experiencing a natural hormonal reaction to romantic attention from an attractive member of the opposite sex. _Thinking of it that way was a lot easier to handle than admitting she wanted Draco Malfoy to snog her senseless.

XXX

A giddy anticipation was growing steadily in her as they walked toward the hospital wing that morning and she steadfastly refused to associate it with seeing Malfoy. _You're just getting excited about Christmas _she told herself.

_Yeah, _the evil part of her mind answered, _and I know just who you want wrapped up under the tree this year._

She groaned in frustration causing her two friends to eye her speculatively. She ignored the look and set herself to berating her wayward mind. When they reached their destination she took a deep breath... and entered the fray.

He was still much too gorgeous for her mental health but she was learning to steel herself to the effects of his attraction. She found it much easier to deal with now that she was prepared for it.

_So what if he makes my stomach flutter and breathing seem optional? _she thought defiantly as she walked towards him, _It's just a chemical reaction. I can ignore this. _Her thoughts turned a tad desperate as she grew near. _I _will _ignore it._

She plastered a friendly smile on her face and was about to call out to him when the crack that signaled apparition was heard and a very familiar house elf appeared.

The elf set a tray on the nightstand and bowed. "Your breakfast, Mr. Draco, sir." he said. Her smile grew less forced and she opened her mouth in a second attempt at a greeting when Malfoy did the unthinkable.

"Thank you, Dobby." Draco said kindly and Hermione had to reign in her shock. _Draco Malfoy just thanked a house elf._ Her heart melted a little. _Oh, I am in so much trouble._

Ron, predictably, was the one who's voice was heard. Loudly.

"Did you just thank a house elf!?"

Draco's head snapped up as he noticed them for the first time. He smiled at Hermione before turning a sardonic gaze towards Ron. "Yes, Weasley," he drawled, "It is usually considered good manners to thank someone who does you a favor, or didn't your mother teach you that?"

Ron sputtered indignantly but was saved from saying something stupid as Dobby, who had heard the name Weasley, looked up and saw who was standing there. "Harry Potter!" he exclaimed happily, "Dobby is so pleased to see you! And Miss Hermione and Mr. Ron too! Dobby has missed you all."

Harry, Ron and Hermione all waved and smiled while exchanging hellos. "Dobby has been trying to talk to the other house elves about being free, Miss Hermione, but I don't think it will be doing much good. They all just start screaming and covering their ears when they see me coming." Hermione tried to contain the giggle that threatened to escape from the mental image of hundreds of elves screaming and running away from Dobby.

"That's ok, Dobby," she said earnestly, "I appreciate your effort."

Dobby beamed at her and then bowed. "Dobby is always happy to be of service," he said, "and speaking of service, Dobby must be getting back to the kitchens. The most pleasant of mornings to you all!" They said their goodbyes before he dissapparated.

Hermione turned to study Draco as he smiled and bid Dobby goodbye as if they were old friends. It was just too much to assimilate all at once and she knew she had to get out of there before she did something stupid. Like throw herself into his arms.

Thankfully, Harry saved her from having to concoct an excuse. "Well, we'd better be going," he said, "or we'll be late for breakfast."

"Yes," Hermione latched onto the idea, "Breakfast. Wouldn't want to be late for breakfast," she said quickly, wondering how many more mealtimes would be able to save her, "and Ron has to get to the train."

Draco eyed Harry speculatively, "Just Weasley?"

"Yes," Harry said with an undercurrent of challenge, "I didn't want to leave Hermione here alone."

Draco met the challenge with one of his own. "Well you needn't have bothered yourself, Potter." he said coolly, "I have no intention of leaving her alone."

Hermione laughed nervously, trying to break the tension. "Well, that's good," she said a bit too brightly, "Now I'll be double not alone." Both boys turned to look at her and she decided retreat was the best option. "So... we'll be going now. Harry and I will see you later, Draco. Madam Pomfrey said she would be releasing you before lunch so come and find us in the great hall and we'll eat together." She grabbed Harry and Ron by the arm and herded them toward the door.

XXX

"See you then, Angel." Draco called after her and smiled as he anticipated being able to spend all day with her, instead of the snippets he'd been allowed in this cursed hospital wing.

When he was sure they had gone he set about writing out all the spells he could remember and what they did. If he could think of the word but not its purpose he left the space next to it empty. He figured he could ask Hermione to help fill in the blanks. After that was done he chose all the spells he could safely practice in his current location and did them repeatedly in every combination of standard, silent and wandless.

He spent two hours in this manner and at the end of that time he was tired, sweaty and smiling. He could do every spell he knew both wandless and silent although it was considerably easier to do them either silently with his wand, or wandless but spoken.

He considered using this new found knowledge to impress Hermione but something held him back. His gut rebelled at the idea of letting anyone know the extent of what he could do.

"Your greatest defensive weapon lies in fooling your opponent into underestimating you." _Snape! I remember Snape! _His joy at having a tangible memory surface was dimmed by the mixed emotions that came with it. He didn't know if Snape could be trusted. While he didn't fill Draco with dread the way thoughts of his father did, the reason for his mistrust would not reveal itself.

He had a feeling it was dangerous for him to be so uninformed, especially where his father was concerned. He wracked his brain trying to think of a way he could get some more information and suddenly it came to him. "Dobby."

As soon as the name left his lips the tiny house elf appeared by his side. "Did you call for Dobby, Mr. Draco sir?"

Draco jumped at the sudden apparation. "How did you-?"

"Oh, the elves always hear when someone is wanting them, sir. Just call out for Dobby, and Dobby will come."

_Well that was useful. _"Dobby can I ask you a question?"

"Certainly, Mr. Draco, sir," the elf replied helpfully.

"How do I know you?"

Dobby smiled and started dancing around with glee. "Dobby knew you would know him!" he squealed, "They said you wouldn't remember, but Dobby knew you would figure it out. Mr. Draco is very clever!" Dobby continued his dance.

"Dobby...Dobby!" The little elf stopped and looked at him for a moment before remembering the question.

"Oh, yes! Dobby was Mr. Draco's personal house elf, sir. Dobby served the Malfoy family his whole life until Harry Potter freed him."

The news floored him. "That's fantastic! Then you can tell me about my family."

Dobby's eyes grew wide. "Oh no, sir. Dobby is not supposed to tell Mr. Draco about his family."

"What? Why not?" The elf pressed his lips together and shook his head emphatically. "Dobby, please," Draco implored, "It's very important that I know everything I can about my father." Dobby couldn't halt his grimace at the mention of Lucius Malfoy.

"I gather you don't care for him much either." Draco said and then took pity on the poor elf who looked to be contemplating smashing his head into the nightstand. "It's ok, Dobby. You don't have to do anything that is going to get you in trouble. But I would really like to know some things so if you change your mind please come back and talk to me."

Dobby beamed. "Thank you, Mr. Draco, sir. You always were kind to Dobby when the others weren't about. Dobby is always remembering that," and then with a small pop he was gone.

_Well that was far less helpful that I was hoping. _The only thing he'd learned was that he wasn't the only one to dislike his father.

He discarded the idea of asking Hermione for information since it seemed his family had something to do with the reason they weren't friends. He didn't want to attract any attention to her reasons for resisting him.

Dumbledore was also out of the question because of his inability to give a straight answer to anything. It seemed Draco was truly stuck. He'd just have to wait for his memories to surface in their own time.

At least it wasn't a pressing issue as he didn't see any reason he would have to deal with his father until summer.

_Surely my memories will be back by then. And as for Snape, I can quietly investigate him from here and just avoid the man until I solve it._ Feeling considerably better now that he'd pushed that dilemma aside, he started to concentrate on something much more important.

How to win Hermione Granger.


	4. Chapter 4

After pretending to eat breakfast and forcing a smile as she and Harry saw Ron to the train, Hermione escaped to her sanctuary for some much needed alone time. She walked through the doors and pulled a book off a shelf at random. Her favorite armchair beckoned, tucked into the farthest corner of the library and she sank into it, wrapping the comfort it offered around her to try and chase away her unsettling emotions.

_This is completely unacceptable, _she scolded herself, _You can not allow yourself to be attracted to Draco Malfoy. _She rubbed her forehead as if that would help the mental command sink in. _Not only is it ridiculous, it's dangerous to your emotional well being. _

Hermione knew that no matter what he said now, as soon as he regained his memories he could go right back to the way he was before. _And even if by some miracle this new persona is in fact his true self, it still won't help you. _He would be furious at her for tricking him.

_If you let yourself get tangled up in this now it's only asking to have your heart trampled. _She tried to tell herself she could handle it but she had a felling it was already too late.

_Why does he have to be so nice? _She thought a bit angrily. She could deal with a teasing Draco. She could deal with a suddenly gorgeous Draco. But a genuinely kind Draco? She had no defenses against that.

She started a bit at her thoughts. _And when, for the love of Merlin, did I start thinking of him as Draco?_

The devious side of her mind decided to join in at that point.

_I believe it was around the time he thanked Dobby as if he were a friend instead of a servant, _it reminded her, _or it could have been when he pulled you into his lap and you started to think about how good he felt pressed up against you, just like in your late night fantas-_

"Stop!" she shouted at herself causing the other occupants in the library to eye her strangely.

_Great, _she thought, whispering an apology and burying her nose into the book she had forgotten about, _now I'm arguing with myself. This is so not good. _

She finally noticed which book she had picked out and she groaned in frustration. Pride and Prejudice. Hermione decided the library was not helping and she was just about to stand when Harry walked around a bookshelf and spotted her.

"There you are." he said, "I was wondering where you'd gotten to. It's almost time for lunch."

The frivolous ball of butterflies that was calling itself her stomach jumped. Draco was meeting them for lunch. She was contemplating the idea of running away to hide in her room when Dumbledore walked straight out of the wall. Her eyes widened in shock and Harry fell back into a chair. "Blimey!"

Dumbledore just smiled. "Secret passageway." he pointed to the wall behind him, "To anyone but me it is quite solid." Harry regained his composure and stood to greet the headmaster.

"Good afternoon, sir. Did you need something?"

"I just wanted to inform you that young Mr. Malfoy has been released from the hospital wing and is looking for you. He came to speak to me in my office just now and asked me a great deal of questions." He looked directly at Hermione.

"What are we supposed to tell him sir?" she asked and a very amused smile preceded his response.

"Well, I think I'll leave that up to you my dear, as every question he asked was about you."

The look on her face must have been quite humorous because Harry burst out laughing.

"What?" he said in response to her glare, "You have to admit it's kind of funny. Malfoy's in love with you!"

In his mirth he didn't see the way her eyes sparkled for a moment at the idea of Draco being in love with her. _Nonsense, _she thought forcefully and pushed the feeling away, _he's joking!_ She was grateful Harry had missed her foolishness.

Dumbledore, however, missed nothing.

His knowing smile unnerved her and she opened her mouth to change the subject when Dobby apparated onto the small coffee table in front of her chair. _Well, I'm glad I wasn't enjoying my alone time, _she thought dryly, eying the collection of people that surrounded her.

"Dobby is sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Dumbledore said to tell him if Mr. Draco asked Dobby any questions."

"They weren't about me were they?" Hermione asked in horror.

"No, Mr. Draco was wanting to know about his father." Dobby replied and a slightly guilty expression came over his small face. "Dobby didn't _tell_ Mr Draco anything," he continued, but the way he shifted his weight back a forth and started ringing his hands didn't bode well for their secrets.

"What exactly do you mean by that, Dobby?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, you see," Dobby began, "Dobby didn't _say_ anything to Mr. Draco, but when he mentioned his father, Dobby might have... made a small face, sir. One that would make it easy to see Dobby's... distaste for his old master. Dobby knows Mr. Draco saw because he said to Dobby-," the small elf pulled himself up and did remarkable impression of Draco, "I gather you don't care for him much either."

Dumbledore's smile was decidedly smug but Harry was quick to jump in. "That doesn't mean anything for sure." But the headmaster was not dismayed in the least at Harry's protest.

"Thank you, Dobby," he said to the elf, "That was most helpful."

Dobby bowed, "Dobby is always happy to help Albus Dumbledore, sir," and with a smile and a wave to the two Gryffindors he dissapparated.

"Well," Dumbledore clasped his hands in front of him, "That was enlightening! I think I'll leave you two to your thoughts." And with a wink to Hermione he walked back through the wall.

"I still say it doesn't mean anything." Harry grumbled.

Hermione decided silence was her best option.


	5. Chapter 5

Draco sat at the only remaining table in the great hall surrounded by what he considered to be an inordinate amount of christmas decorations. _Do they expect people to be able to eat in this monstrosity? _He had a feeling he would be trying to convince Hermione to take quite a few meals in their common room. He smiled at that. He couldn't believe his luck when he was released from the hospital wing to return to his room.

Madam Pomfrey had shown him to a private dormitory that the head boy and girl shared. He walked into the common room and his gaze took in the comfy looking chairs and couch facing a large fireplace, the wall of floor to ceiling bookshelves that comprised the private library, and two sets of stairs, one on either side of the room.

He found the sign that read, 'Head Boy: Draco Malfoy' on the wall next to the stairs on the left. Curious, he had sought out the sign on the right hand staircase and could not contain his glee as he read, 'Head Girl: Hermione Granger'.

_She can't escape me now, _he'd thought, _I know where she sleeps. _

He was then assaulted by the image of her lying in bed wearing a wickedly skimpy excuse for pajamas, her covers tangled around her feet and her beautifully tempting hair splayed across her pillows. His blood heated and he vowed to find out what she slept in so he could have a more accurate picture.

_No, _he'd thought as an infinitely more devious idea struck him, _I'll do better than that._

He was brought back to the present as Hermione and Potter walked through the large double doors. Hermione spotted him instantly and he let his pleasure at the sight of her show. He'd found he was not normally an expressive person in public. His face seemed to constantly shut down to conceal his emotions and he had to actively counteract his nature to do something as simple as smile. He didn't like the implications of that.

Pushing aside all disturbing thoughts and concentrating on Hermione, Draco simply enjoyed watching her walk towards him. Her hips swayed gently and her muggle attire did nothing to hide her curves, making his hands itch to explore every enticing inch of her. A whistle followed as she passed a boy wearing a Hufflepuff scarf but Hermione seemed oblivious to her admirer.

Draco, however, was not.

_Mine, _he growled in his mind and pushed the thought at the boy. The Hufflepuff looked up, startled, and met the fierce glow in Draco's eyes. Alarm flashed across his face and he quickly turned away.

Pleased at his ability to intimidate the foolish upstart, he turned his attention back to the pair who, having finally reached him, had sat down on his right. He smiled inwardly at the nearly two feet of space Hermione had left between them. _Oh, this is going to be fun._

XXX

Hermione spotted him the moment she and Harry walked through the doors, his white blond hair immediately drawing her eye. As soon as he looked up she could see a smile light his face and she just barely managed to keep her footing. She was so used to seeing his stony mask that being able to see his emotions was still a bit startling. The thought that he was genuinely happy to see her added to the stunning allure of his smile was nearly her undoing. _Get a grip, _she thought sternly to herself, _the term 'bad idea' is no where near a good enough label for what you are doing._

She vaguely recalled hearing a whistle but paid it no mind as she was sure it didn't pertain to her. Suddenly, Draco's expression turned positively violent and it fixed on a spot off of her right shoulder. She almost turned to see what had upset him but she heard Harry snicker and turned to question her friend instead. "What's funny?"

"Malfoy looks ready to murder that Hufflepuff who whistled at you." he said with a chuckle.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, perplexed, "No one whistled at me."

Harry shook his head at his friend's complete ignorance of her effect on members of the opposite sex. "Trust me, Mione," he said, "He was whistling at you. And apparently Malfoy took offense. If it didn't sicken me I might say it was sweet." He ignored the glare she sent him and sat down at the table.

Hermione looked down in dismay at the empty seat between the two boys and, not trusting herself to be that close to the cause of her new found insanity, sat as close to Harry as she could get. She chanced a look at Draco and would swear he looked as though he wanted to smile at her cowardly move.

"Hi." she managed. He simply stared at the space between them, raised one eyebrow mockingly, and then slid over until his leg almost brushed up against hers.

"Hi." he replied and another one of those dazzling smiles proved her theory that distance was a good thing. Having the full effect this close to her was devastating to her resolve.

She heard Harry snicker again and she elbowed him in the ribs. It didn't have the same effect on him as it did with Ron, as he continued with his amusement, but he did move down a bit as if to give her an escape. Her pride, however, refused to let her retreat a second time.

_You're a Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake. Start acting like it! _She forced her body to at least outwardly seem unaffected by his nearness. "I'm glad you're well enough to have left the hospital," she said with a smile.

XXX

Draco saw the struggle his angel went through to mask her awareness of him and he decided to take pity on her. Knowing he affected her was enough for now. He wanted her to know he wasn't giving up but he didn't want to push her too fast and scare her away.

"Thank you," he said and this time his smile was simply friendly, "So am I." He knew she was still trying to collect herself so he squashed his aversion to the idea of asking for help and turned his attention to Potter. "I was hoping you could help me with something," he addressed the green eyed boy.

The slight look of shock on Potter's face confirmed Draco's suspicion that he did not normally do such things.

"Umm... sure. What is it?"

"Dumbledore said something about me falling off of a broomstick." Draco began, "Originally I thought he was a bit mad, but when I went up to my room I saw pictures of people flying around on them, and I discovered I had such a device hanging on my wall. On the way down here I saw your name on a trophy that featured a figure riding a broom so I was hoping you would help me remember how to do it."

Potter was doing his fish impression again until Hermione elbowed him. "Yeah... sure." He said rubbing his abused ribs, "We can go to the Quiddich pitch after lunch if you'd like."

"Good," Draco said and then cursed himself for having to ask, "What's Quiddich?"

The black haired boy smiled at him for the first time and he wasn't sure it was a good thing.

"Oh, this is going to be fun."


	6. Chapter 6

Draco stood on the grass and looked first up at the rings high above his head, then at Potter who was still grinning madly while flying around in a dizzying display. _Yep, definitely not a good thing. _He saw Hermione waving at them from the bleachers and shook his head in amusement.

"You're not coming with us?" he'd asked when she bid them goodbye after lunch. "Oh, no," she said quickly with a look of horror on her face, "I prefer to stay on the ground where everything's... stable." His witch was afraid of flying. "I'll watch from the stands."

Draco was fighting the urge to conform to her very sound reasoning, but he would be damned if he let Potter show him up and so, gripping his broomstick the way Potter had told him, he took a deep breath and pushed off the ground.

The moment he entered the air he knew he'd done this before. And he was good at it.

A grin of his own surfaced and he zoomed past Potter, laughing at the look on his face as he was forced to pull out of a spin to keep his balance. "Sorry, Potter," he called out, "No control yet, and all that!" A challenge glinted in the green eyes of his aerial opponent and suddenly both boys shot into a race around the pitch.

Draco discovered they were very evenly matched flyers. Every time he got an edge Potter managed to maneuver ahead of him somehow, but Draco never let him keep the lead long and they spent about half an hour in this manner before they both shared a look of grudging respect.

"Not bad, Malfoy," Harry conceded as they slowed to touch down, "I think you may have been holding back in your Quidditch matches. I've never had that much trouble keeping up with you."

"Thanks, Potter," Draco replied, "I know I don't have the memory to back this up, but I have a feeling you're my only real competition."

Hermione ran up to them and threw her arms around Harry.

_Maybe in more ways than one, _Draco thought darkly and raised a questioning eyebrow over Hermione's head.

Potter caught his look and a very amused smile curled his lips before he shook his head and Draco almost sighed his relief. He wasn't sure he would have a chance if Hermione was in love with her best friend. Oblivious to the quick exchange between the boys, Hermione pulled away from Harry and promptly proceeded to give him an earful.

"Harry James Potter you scared me out of my wits! I told you to go easy on him! You both looked like you were about to plummet to your deaths at least a dozen times and you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Draco was very amused by his angel's show of temper and a small snicker escaped as she finished her tirade. When she turned her fiery gaze on him his laughter died and Draco found himself completely captivated.

"Don't think you're getting off easy mister," she poked him in the chest with her index finger and he was thoroughly enchanted, "I saw you start it with that move at the beginning. What were you thinking? You could have been killed zooming around like that with a head injury!"

The warmth that spread through him at her concern completely ruined his attempt to look contrite and a very self satisfied smile preceded his response. "If you respond like this every time you think I'm in danger, I think I might do it more often."

XXX

Hermione realized two things at once. The first was that she had just poked Draco Malfoy in the chest while yelling at him. The second was how close she was to him.

Between her worry and anger she had completely forgotten to keep her distance and now his proximity came crashing down on her. She stood frozen with awareness, her finger still pressed into his chest and her head tilted back to look up into his smug silver gaze. Her eyes dropped to his lips and every scandalous image that had plagued her last night came flooding back with enough force to cause her legs to tremble.

Realizing her mistake, she quickly brought her gaze back up to meet his and saw the moment he became aware of her desire. The playful light left his eyes and silver darkened to gunmetal with a flash of heat. Unable to stop him, she watched as he bent his head towards her, his lips slowly inching closer. Her eyes fluttered closed in anticipation and she could feel his breath mingling with her own...

A loud persistent cough broke through the haze and Hermione's eyes flew open as she jerked away from Draco. She turned to see Harry looking at her as if she'd lost her mind and she flushed a deep crimson. She couldn't argue with him. This was getting utterly out of hand. _How am I supposed to survive the next two weeks without succumbing to this effect he has on me?_

Not being able to face him, she looked down at Draco's feet. "Right... well... we should... go back inside." she managed awkwardly and turned to flee back to the castle, leaving both boys to jog a few steps to catch up with her.

XXX

Draco watched her walking stiffly beside him and thought that if he wasn't so frustrated he might actually be grateful to Potter. Hermione was scared of her feelings for him and resisting them with everything she had. He didn't know why but he did know that he had to go about this very carefully. He had no doubt he could seduce her but he knew if he did he would only get one night before she ran, and a quick tumble was not what he wanted from her. _Ok,_ _that's not _all _I want from her, _he admitted.

He hadn't intended to kiss her.

He had intended to just stand there and let her awareness of him sink in. He wanted to slowly get her used to being near him without that defensive edge she always put between them. But then she'd looked at his mouth and he'd given in to the urge to find out what she was thinking. His plan had been to pop in, get a feel for how much he was affecting her and pop right back out. He had been wholly unprepared for what he'd found. The images that he caught from her mind had set fire to his blood and rendered him incapable of rational thought.

Him, pressing her down onto a bed. Him, holding her up against a classroom wall. Him, bending her over a table in the library.

Heat continued to surge through him and kissing her became a need he couldn't deny. The only thing he'd been able to do was to force himself to go slow instead of crushing her to him and devouring her, and that was only because he'd also caught the depth of her fear.

He hung his head at the damage he'd almost caused,_ Dammit I need to have better control that that! _If Potter hadn't interrupted he would have scared her away for good, and that was unacceptable.

He wanted her. Not just for a day or two, but forever. And Draco Malfoy always got what he wanted.

XXX

_Just keep walking, Just keep walking,_ she repeated over and over as they made their way back to the castle, _Just keep walking. Don't think about the fact that you almost let Draco Malfoy kiss you. Don't think about how badly you wanted his kiss and _definitely_ don't think about what would have happened if Harry hadn't intervened. _

She had a feeling kissing him would be a life altering event. The rational part of her brain knew she had to be more careful, but the recently discovered reckless part of her was sick of being careful. No one had ever made her feel like this before and she found herself wanting to just give in. Just react for once in her life and think about the consequences later. Yes, it would end badly and yes, she might never be the same when it was over but from what she was feeling it might just be worth it. She finally understood all the girls she had previously looked down on. They were all searching for _this_.

This consuming, intoxicating, make your head spin and your knees weak kind of experience. She couldn't imagine anyone else replicating this effect he had on her and he certainly wasn't going to stay this way for long so why not just enjoy it? Lost in her thoughts she accidentally brushed against Harry and reality crashed down on her.

_Are you insane? _She berated herself harshly, and then hung her head in shame. _How in the name of Merlin am I supposed to fight against him _and_ myself?_


	7. Chapter 7

Draco knew Hermione wouldn't be able to relax around him until she could regain her sense of control so when they reached the castle he decided to give her some time to herself. He told them he wanted to shower and catch up on some of the homework he'd missed before dinner. After nodding goodbye to Potter and giving Hermione a friendly smile he made his way towards their common room.

On the way he pondered how he was going to carry out the devious plan he'd come up with that morning. It was almost Christmas so surely there was a way of shopping. He just had to find someone to tell him how it was done here. He had almost made it to the Head's portrait when a girl with long blonde hair wearing a dreamy expression, a Ravenclaw tie and... radishes?... in her ears came skipping around the corner. _Perfect, _he thought, _I'll ask her._

"Excuse me!" he called out and the girl looked up and smiled serenely.

"Certainly," she replied, "What am I excusing you for?" Draco was a bit taken back by the fact that she seemed absolutely serious.

"Um... I was hoping you could help me with something." Her eyebrows raised in what he supposed was the closest she came to looking shocked. _Why does everyone keep looking at me like that? _He thought a bit grumpily. Her eyebrows lowered and the dreamy look returned, along with a thoughtful smile.

"Well, I can certainly try. But I supposed it depends a great deal on what you need help with. I can get rid of the nargles in your head if that's what you're worried about but I'm afraid I can't do anything about the garden gnome problem in the great pyramids. So why don't you tell me what you need help with and then I'll let you know if I can help you."

Draco decided he liked this girl. Granted she was a bit odd, but her logic was infallible. Never offer your assistance until you know what you are getting yourself into. It was a very Slytherin tactic and he thoroughly approved.

"Well, I need to buy a present and I was wondering how that's done around here."

"Oh, I can definitely help you with that." she said happily, "Follow me." She turned on her heel heading back the way she'd come. "Who's the present for?" she asked after a moment of walking in silence.

"Hermione Granger."

"Oh, are you two finally together?" she said with a smile, "I've been waiting forever for you to figure that out."

He definitely liked this girl. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" he asked, "I hit my head a few days ago and my memory is a little off."

"Ah," she said with a nod, "that explains a lot."

Before he could question her about that statement she continued. "I'm Luna. Luna Lovegood. We know each other but we haven't really had the chance to talk much. Probably because you're in Slytherin, or I suppose it could be because of that whole Death Eater thing." she shrugged blithely. _What on earth is a Death Eater? _"Actually, it's probably a mixture of both."

He opened his mouth to ask when she stopped suddenly and he was distracted by the wild happenings through the doorway she had stopped in front of. Owls were swooping around in all directions. Some carrying packages, some carrying letters. There was a mountainous collection of what looked like catalogs along the far wall and a small sign that read, 'Order Forms' hung above a tall stack of parchment.

_Owls, _he thought with a laugh, _and I thought Hermione was speaking metaphorically._

"Here we are." Luna said brightly, "All you have to do is pick what you would like from one of those catalogs and then send your order form out with an owl. The package will usually arrive in a few hours."

He looked at the massive amount of catalogs with a bit of trepidation. "I don't have to look through all of those to find what I want do I?"

"Oh heavens no!" she replied with a smile, "that would take forever. You just think of what you want and the table sorts them for you, only giving you the catalogs that apply to your request."

Well that sounded easy enough. "How do you pay for things?" he asked and cursed himself for not thinking of that sooner. He didn't have any money on him. Come to think of it he didn't even know where he kept his money or how much of it he had.

"Well normal people... and me, have to include payment with their order," she began and his face fell, "but unusual cases, like yours, don't require up front payment. You just have to press your family crest-" she indicated the ring on his right hand, "-into the order form and they'll take care of it at the bank."

"But how will I know how much I can spend?" he asked "What if I overdraw my account?"

Her bemused smile confused him. He thought it was a perfectly logical question.

"You really did hit your head didn't you?" she said, "The Malfoys are one of the most wealthy wizarding families in the country. Second only to the house of Black... or is it the house of Potter now since Harry is the only heir?... I can never keep that straight... Anyhow," she continued airily, "I'm pretty sure you don't have to worry about overdrawing your account. You could buy a few of everything available in this room and still be able to afford two... or possibly three national monuments."

She had that serious tone again and Draco really didn't think she was joking. _Well that's good to know._

"Well, I'd better be off," Luna said abruptly, "I'm supposed to be keeping an eye out for riffle wargs in the library. Daddy says they're very common this time of year." She straightened and began gliding towards the door, "See you sometime in the future." she called as she disappeared through the entryway.

"Thank you!" Draco called after her as she turned the corner. He stared at the empty doorway for a moment and shook his head. _That is one very odd girl._

Looking over at the pile of catalogs, he knew he wouldn't be doing his real Christmas shopping yet. He had to think of the perfect present, and now that money was not an issue he was looking forward to a little extravagance. Today he would just be buying a small early gift.

_Very small, _he thought with a devilish grin, _and green, I think. Yes, definitely green. _Thoroughly pleased with himself, he pictured what he wanted to buy and set about looking through the catalogs that floated out of the pile.

XXX

Hermione sank further into the bubbles and wished she could just stay here forever. She had grabbed her well worn copy of the Count of Monte Cristo and escaped to the prefect's bathroom as soon as Draco had left them, but even Edmond Dantes couldn't save her this time. Draco Malfoy was overriding every other thought she tried to have and it was maddening.

She had given up trying to fight it about an hour ago and now was just concentrating on damage control. _I can't will away my attraction to him, so I'm just going to have to try and contain it to that. _She could get over losing an object of desire. She would not get over losing him if she let herself actually start to care about him.

_So I won't, _she thought determinedly, _I'll let my hormones run wild and have all the crazy fantasies about him they want, but I'll keep my heart out of it. _

She finally came to terms with her attraction to him and now that she'd made a plan to deal with it, she felt like she had a little bit of control back. That made it much easier to contemplate the coming weeks with him.

XXX

After placing his order, Draco returned to his room to shower and change for dinner. He was just finishing buttoning his shirt as he walked into the common room and Hermione emerged from her bedroom. She smiled shyly and walked over to meet him.

A tantalizing scent of crisp apples and cinnamon came from her freshly washed hair as she grew near and he wanted to press his face into the wild mass of curls and inhale deeply. However, thinking this would assuredly unsettle her, he reigned in his desire and offered his arm playfully. "May I escort you to dinner, Miss Granger?"

The relaxed, amused smile she graced him with was well worth his efforts. "Certainly, Mr. Malfoy." she said with a laugh and placed her arm in his.

And so it was that Draco Malfoy walked into the great hall with Hermione Granger on his arm.

XXX

Hermione knew she should feel ridiculous letting Draco escort her into the room as if she were a princess but she didn't. She felt wonderful.

The attraction she felt for him was still there but his playful manner had put her at ease. Without the heated intensity coming off of him she could breathe and enjoy his company. And to her amazement she really did.

He found his literary memory had not been affected by the fall and they talked all the way to dinner about books they'd both read. She was surprised by the number of favorites they had in common.

"Edmond Dantes would most definitely have been a Slytherin," he said emphatically in response to the debate they were having, "That was the single most masterful example of scheming in history. Besides," he waggled his eyebrows at her, "he got the girl. Slytherins always get the girl."

She laughed at the absurdity of Draco Malfoy waggling his eyebrows. "Keep dreaming, Malfoy." She said and he pulled her just a bit closer before leaning in and responding softly, "Oh, I intend to."

_So much for breathing, _she thought and dragged her gaze away from his. She concentrated on finding a spot to sit and as her eyes scanned the room Luna Lovegood caught her eye and waved. Then with a smile and a gesture towards Draco, gave her a thumbs up.

_Oh Merlin, _she thought with a blush. She hadn't really considered what it would look like to the other students, her walking into the room hanging onto Draco. Thankfully, she finally spotted Harry and pulled Draco along to sit down next to him. Still reeling from the fact that the rest of the people in the room now thought she and Draco were a couple she was completely unprepared for his sudden question.

"What's a Death Eater?"

XXX

Seeing Luna had reminded Draco of her earlier statement and it began troubling him. That was something he knew he really should know. So as he sat down at the table next to Potter he asked, "What's a Death Eater?"

Hermione went deathly still and he wondered if he'd made a mistake. She seemed almost petrified and ultimately it was Potter who responded warily.

"Why do you ask?"

"It was something Luna said earlier when she was helping me Christmas shop-" The look on Potter's face went from wary to incredulous at the mention of Luna.

"You went Christmas shopping with Luna Lovegood?!" he practically shouted.

Draco took his shock for a slight against Luna and anger pushed away his earlier question.

"Now look here, Potter." he said a bit menacingly, "I realize she's a bit odd but she's a very sweet girl and I won't have you insulting her."

XXX

_Draco Malfoy went Christmas shopping with Luna Lovegood and is now defending her character to Harry Potter. The world had gone completely mad._

Harry burst out laughing and Hermione knew she had to step in as Draco looked ready to bludgeon him with something. "He's not insulting her. Luna's actually a good friend of ours," she said quickly, "I think he was just surprised that you knew her... or Christmas shopped." She finished lamely.

His anger seemed to cool when he turned to her. "Why wouldn't I Christmas shop?"

_Good one, Hermione, _she thought self depreciatingly, _How are you going to get out of that? _Luckily, Harry had composed himself enough to save her.

"I think she meant that you were _still_ Christmas shopping," he jumped in, "It's a bit last minute and with your tendency to plot we figured you'd have been done by now."

She knew Draco didn't entirely buy it but thankfully, he seemed willing to be placated.

"Well," he drawled with a smile, "let's just say I've recently discovered someone to add to my nice list."

Her heart flipped a little. "You were shopping for me?"

"Yes, although I will admit that the one I bought today was more a present to myself." His smile turned positively wicked. The smile muddled her brain for a moment and then his words sank in.

"Wait.. the _one _you bought _today?_"

"Oh, I'm not even close to being done with you, Angel."

She was saved from having to reply by the appearance of dinner. Thankfully, Draco seemed to have forgotten the question that had started this whole surreal conversation, and both boys began piling food on their plates. She followed suit and began to eat slowly. _He's buying me Christmas presents. _She started to think maybe she needed to revise her plan. It might actually be easier to fight the attraction than the way her heart was starting to melt.


	8. Chapter 8

Three days later Hermione knew she was doomed.

It was Christmas Eve and she was sitting on her bed pulling off her snow covered boots after the walk back from Hogsmeade where they had all done a little last minute Christmas shopping. Draco had been positively beaming in self congratulatory glee and she was a little afraid of what she was going to unwrap tomorrow.

She fingered the small box that contained his present and contemplated the difference a week could make. Last Friday night she had been finishing up her homework assignments and looking forward to a quiet holiday filled with books, tea, and not a whole lot else, and today... she was in love with Draco Malfoy.

She hung her head in silent defeat. In the past three days he had maneuvered his way under every barrier she tried to put up until she was left helpless to resist him. He was smart and funny, and most of all... kind. He was unfailingly kind.

How was she supposed to fight against a boy who learned how she liked her tea so he could bring her a cup every morning, or stayed up to read a book he knew she liked so he could discuss it with her? Granted, he was still cocky, snarky and sarcastic, and on more than one occasion proved that deviously sneaky was a natural and not a learned trait. She smiled at the memory of her early Christmas present.

She'd come back to her room from dinner that first night to find a brightly wrapped package on her bed. She pulled it open to find an almost indecently short nightgown in the softest green silk she had ever felt. The note that accompanied it hadn't been signed but she had no doubt as to the identity of the gift giver.

_Forgive me the selfishness of this gift, Angel. _

_I just wanted to have a more accurate _

_mental picture when I imagine you _

_in my bed._

She'd been so flustered she'd stayed in her room the rest of the night.

So... sneaky, confident, and devious? Yes. But there was no malice in him. He had a temper that was positively frightening but it was only set off by his protectiveness. Yesterday he had thoroughly hexed a couple of Ravenclaw boys who he'd caught hiding Luna's shoes, and Hermione knew that no one would ever dare to do such a thing again.

And then there were the ways he looked at her.

Sometimes almost reverently, as if she were precious. Sometimes with appreciation, as if just being near her made him happy. Sometimes with so much heated possession she thought she would combust.

She knew that being an intelligent, modern girl, she should be repelled by his possessiveness but she wasn't. It made her toes curl to be wanted so fiercely. He had actually growled at Cormac McLaggen when he had walked up and slung his arm around her in the library. The pompous git had taken one look at Draco's face and quickly decided he needed to be elsewhere.

And so Hermione found she was unable to deny it any longer. She was completely, irrevocably, insanely, in love with Draco Malfoy.

XXX

Draco sat at the dinner table that night feeling quite decidedly smug. He had managed to find the perfect gift for Hermione at the bookstore today. He knew it would be her favorite present and he smiled in bemusement. With any other girl it would be the three carat heart shaped diamond he'd gotten her, but not his angel. The gift that was going to turn her to mush and have her throwing her arms around him tomorrow morning was the book.

He glanced at the fascinating girl sitting next to him and he knew he was making progress. She still blushed furiously and became completely befuddled when he brushed up against her or sat a little closer to her than necessary, but the defensiveness and most of the fear had disappeared.

It had been the worst kind of hell being so close to her and not acting on the need to crush her to him and devour her. He had kept his touches light and teasing, promising himself that he would not go any further while she still held herself back from him. Knowing he could seduce a response from her was not enough.

He needed her to choose him. To knowingly and willingly come to him, not to just give in to a lust induced reaction. Because the way to Hermione Granger's heart was definitely through her brain. And he wanted her forever.

He was brought out of his thoughts by her voice. "It's just kind of sad, that's all."

"What's sad?" he asked.

She turned away from Harry and smiled, "Where did you go off to?"

"I was just thinking about your Christmas present."

"You really are thoroughly pleased with yourself aren't you?" she teased with a laugh.

"Watch it, Angel." he said in mock threat, "Remember what I told you about laughing at me?"

Her face bloomed with heat but instead of looking away as he'd expected she held his gaze and he would swear she was thinking about how it had felt when he'd pulled her into his lap. He almost looked into her mind but stopped himself at the last second. He didn't think he would be able to keep from throwing her down on the table and ravishing her right there if he saw any more of the same images he'd seen that first time. He had staunchly refused to invade her mind again, knowing it was an awful violation of her privacy. No matter how much he'd been tempted.

This time it was him who needed a distraction so he cleared his throat and repeated his question. "What's making you sad?"

"Oh, it's nothing really. I was just thinking about how we don't have a tree."

He looked at her as if she were a bit daft and indicated the thirty trees scattered around the great hall. She scowled at him, "Those don't count. I meant our own tree, to put presents under, and decorate and such. It's not that big of a deal, it's just the first time I haven't had one," she said a bit wistfully.

Draco let his face revert to its calm, unaffected state. "Well," he said offhandedly, "You'll just have to get two trees next year."

She shook her head and smiled at him as if he really didn't get it and went back to talking to Luna.

Meanwhile, Draco was plotting.

XXX

Hermione left the library later that night and headed back towards their common room. She figured she'd have her traditional Christmas Eve cup of hot cocoa (she'd already put an order in to the kitchen for two mugs just in case Draco wanted one) and then snuggle into bed. She pushed open the portrait... and stared in wonderment.

Standing by the fire was a tall, beautifully formed Christmas tree.

Movement caught her eye and she turned to see Draco coming out of his room carrying what looked like a box of decorations. "I really hope you like it," he said, "because for no one else but you would I willingly put this-" he hefted the box in his arms, "-god awful, sparkly insanity in my room."

She stood transfixed at the sight of him, firelight gleaming off the white gold of his hair, standing next to the Christmas tree getting ready to decorate it. For her.

"You went out into the snow and chopped down a tree for me?"

He looked up from the box of ornaments. "Of course not. Don't be silly," he smiled devilishly, "I paid a couple of fourth years to do it."

She burst out laughing and he raised an eyebrow challengingly. "That is the second time today you've laughed at me, Angel. If you're not careful, I'm going to think you're deliberately tempting me."

Before she could respond, which was probably a good thing because she was certain she would have said something irrevocably stupid, a loud crack sounded and Dobby appeared holding two steaming mugs.

"Dobby has brought Miss Hermione's hot chocolate." the small elf said with a smile.

"Thank you Dobby." Hermione said gratefully. She moved to take both the cups and set them on the small table by the couch.

"Is there anything else Miss Hermione or Mr. Draco needs?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, thank you, Dobby." Draco replied.

"Sir is most welcome. Happy Christmas!" Dobby bid them both.

"Happy Christmas." they replied in unison and watched the small elf disapparate.

Hermione walked over to Draco and looked at the tree. "Thank you," she said sincerely, gesturing at it, "I can't believe you did that."

"Believe it, Angel," he said, "There isn't a whole lot that I wouldn't do for you." Her heart skipped. "Besides," he continued with a grin, "I didn't do all of it. You have to help me with the holy sparkly hell part." She smiled and went to the box of decorations.

"Deal."

XXX

They spent the next few hours drinking their hot chocolate and trimming the tree, and when they were finished they both stepped back to admire their work. Hermione was looking at the tree. Draco was looking at her. Her face was beaming and she had tinsel stuck in her hair. She was the most enchanting sight he'd ever seen.

"It's beautiful," she said, clearly delighted with his silly gesture, "Thank you for this, Draco. It's wonderful."

"My pleasure," he replied truthfully, taking a seat on the couch by the fire. Seeing her like this was well worth it. She stretched sleepily and tried to stifle a yawn as she sat on the couch next to him.

"This is turning into a much better Christmas than I thought it was going to be." she said.

"And you haven't even opened your presents yet," he said with a grin, "Speaking of which, do you want to open one?"

"I can't do that. It's not Christmas yet."

"Please?"

She smiled but still shook her head.

"Pretty please?"

She laughed sleepily. "The physical appearance of the please makes absolutely no difference to my decision."

He shook his head in bemusement. "A girl refusing presents. You really are one of a kind, Angel."

She looked at him a bit strangely for a moment as if trying to make a decision, and then did something that utterly shocked him. She leaned in and hugged him.

Her head tucked into the curve of his neck and she held onto him for a moment before starting to pull away. Deciding he liked her just where she was, he quickly took advantage of the situation, pulling her legs across his lap and winding his arm around her waist so she was sitting as if he were carrying her across a threshold. She stiffened for only a moment before relaxing into him. Her head snuggled onto his shoulder and he could feel the breath from her sigh against his neck. Holding her like this was both heaven and hell.

He sat struggling to control his desire for what seemed to him an eternity before ultimately giving in to the overpowering urge to taste her. He bent to tilt her head up and ended up laughing softly.

His angel had fallen asleep in his arms.

He summoned a blanket from his bed and wrapped it around them both. Looking down at her he decided he would sleep on the couch every night if he got to hold her like this. A thought crossed his mind that made a triumphant smile split his lips. That was the first time she had deliberately made physical contact with him.

The beast that had been constantly prowling through his brain insisting that he seduce her now and tie her to him later was finally a bit appeased. He was winning.


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione's arms were bound above her head and cool silk sheets caressed her naked skin as she struggled, not to free herself, but to calm the anticipation that seared through her at the possessive gleam in his silver gaze.

"You're mine, Angel," the low, confident declaration sent shivers down her spine, "and I'm going to make you admit it."

He ever so softly stroked his fingertips down her throat, over her collarbone and between the valley of her breasts. Goosebumps followed in his wake and a small mewling sound fell from her lips as he continued to teasingly stroke her. Across her ribcage, down the slope of her waist, from one hipbone to the other until she was writhing under his hand, silently begging for more.

"You see how you respond to me?" he breathed against her nipple and she arched sharply, trying to get closer to him, "No one else can make you feel like I do. Tell me."

Shaking from the need to have him touch her, she barely managed to reply.

"No one else." she agreed breathlessly and then moaned at the feeling of his mouth surrounding the sensitized peak and rolling it decadently between his teeth.

Heat pooled low in her stomach and she felt herself dampening with each sinful swirl of his tongue. His head lifted, stopping the exquisite torture as he trailed his hand up the length of her thigh and her stomach clenched in anticipation.

"You belong to me," he slid one fingertip along the slick seam of her core and she jerked violently, "Every delicious inch of you is mine. Say it, Hermione."

"Yours," She panted, arching her hips into his touch, "I'm yours."

XXX

_Holy blistering hell. _Draco woke with a start and two things came to his attention is quick succession. The first was that Hermione's leg was perilously close to his throbbing erection. The second was that he must have invaded her mind while she slept. Because that hadn't been _his_ dream.

His angel dreamed about being tied down, at his mercy, waiting for his possession.

The beast inside took over and there was no fighting it back.

XXX

Hermione hadn't meant to fall asleep.

She was just so tired from the sleepless nights she'd spent in inner turmoil and when she finally decided to stop fighting her feelings for Draco, the relief of having made her decision allowed the exhaustion to take hold.

She shifted sleepily, blinking in the morning light and two things came to her attention in quick succession. The first was that she wasn't in her bed. The second was that she was wrapped around a very awake, and very aroused, Draco.

She was facing him with her head on his chest and her thigh thrown across his. Thoroughly embarrassed by the dream she had just had and at the way she clung to him in her sleep, she started to move away, and was immediately pulled back. His left hand gripped the back of her knee and his right was around her waist.

"I liked you where you were, Angel." His voice was low and gravely and that same seductive tone from her dream sent a tingling sensation racing across her skin. She lifted her head to look at him and was captivated by the intensity of the desire shining in his eyes. Suddenly, she found herself beneath him as he rolled and pressed her down into the couch. "Actually, I think I like you here better."

She couldn't contain the moan that tumbled from her lips at the feel of the hard length of his body pressed fully against the softness of hers. She looked up at him from under heavy eyelids and a conflict seemed to be raging in his eyes.

"Tell me you want me, Angel," he growled softly, "I need you to say it."

She didn't even hesitate. "I want you."

Her words acted as a catalyst and his lips came crashing down on hers in a fierce, heated kiss that would forever change her. For the first time in her life, Hermione's considerable brain completely shut down. She could do nothing but feel. The possession of his kiss was exquisitely burning through her, claiming her. One of his hands tangled in her hair and the other slid up the length of her thigh to grip her hip.

And that was how Ron found them.

"**What in the bloody hell is going on here!"**

Draco pulled away to look down at her and she whimpered a bit at the loss of contact. "It appears we have unpleasant company, Angel." His words were calm but she took comfort at the way his chest heaved with every breath and his heart was still pounding against her palm.

He stood and pulled her to her feet just in time to see Ron storming towards them. Her friend grabbed her arm roughly and yanked her away from Draco. She knew he thought he was saving her so she forgave him the bruises, but Draco's gaze turned cold with fury.

"**What the hell do you think you're-"** Ron's words were cut off as Draco grabbed him by the throat and shoved him against the wall.

"If you ever manhandle her like that again," his voice was deceptively calm, but the red headed boy didn't mistake the menace dripping from it, "I will make you regret it."

Hermione knew she needed to diffuse this situation before it got any worse. She put her hand on Draco's arm gently. "Draco," she said softly and waited for him to turn his head, "I'm fine, and he didn't mean any harm. Please let him go."

Draco looked like he wanted to refuse but eventually growled, "You're lucky she likes you," and let Ron slump to the floor.

He got to his feet rubbing his neck and looked between her and Draco before finding his voice again. "Would you mind telling me what the hell is going on?!"

She felt Draco tense. "It would be very unwise for you to continue to shout at her, Weasley."

Ron rounded on Draco, apparently forgetting the position he'd just been in. "I'll shout at her if I want, Malfoy! She's my best friend and somebody needs to do it as she's apparently lost her damned mind!" he turned back to her, "Why in Merlin's bloody beard were you letting Malfoy crawl all over you like you wanted to shag him?"

"Because I love him!"

The room went deathly still. She really hadn't meant to just blurt that out but Ron had been shouting at her and Draco looked ready to murder him and it had just happened. Well, she couldn't take it back now so she plunged forward. "That's right," she said to Ron's stunned silence, "I love him, and you're just going to have to learn to get used to it. And knock." She added for good measure.

Draco's stillness drained the momentary bravery that had infused her and she found she couldn't look at him. She didn't want to see it if she'd just ruined everything. Suddenly his fingers were under her chin, pulling her gaze to his.

"You love me?" he asked softly and the hopeful light in his eyes melted her fear.

"Yes."

His smile took her breath away. "Good."

He addressed Ron without taking his eyes off of her. "Feel free to leave at any time, Weasley. I can assure you I'm about to do something that will upset you."

Harry's voice came from the portrait, saving her from letting Draco snog her senseless in front of Ron as she knew she would have.

"Ron! You made it! Happy Christmas!" Suddenly sensing the tension in the room, he put down the presents he was carrying and eyed them warily. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know!" Ron sputtered, "I come back to spend Christmas with you and find Malfoy wrapped around Hermione like a vine, obviously attacking her. Then he almost killed me when I pulled her away from him, and then she shouted that she loved him! I was only gone for four bloody days and the world has gone completely mad!"

Draco stepped in to defend himself. "First of all," he drawled, "let me assure you that Hermione was quite pleased with the way I was wrapped around her, secondly," his voice turned a bit icy, "you did not pull her away, you grabbed her roughly and yanked. In fact, I'm pretty sure there are bruises already forming on her skin from your 'help'. Third, the fact that Hermione loves me seems only fair as I loved her first. And the rest of the world can go to hell if they don't like it."

For the second time in a matter of minutes the room went still. This time it was Hermione who broke the silence.

"You love me?"

He turned away from glaring at Ron. "Yes."

She smiled brilliantly. "Good."

Ron looked like he was going to have an aneurysm and Harry stepped in before he could speak. "It's ok, mate." he said, "A lot has happened since you left but I promise I'll tell you all about it later." Ron still looked like he wanted to protest so Harry said the only thing he could. "Do you love her?"

"Of course I do! She's like my sister, you know that."

"Then you're gonna have to learn to accept this. It took me a while to get used to the idea myself, but anyone can see that he's sincerely crazy about her. He's not what we thought, Ron."

Ron looked to her with a sort of resigned sigh. "Are you sure about this, Mione?"

"Yes," she replied decisively, looking towards Draco with a smile, "He makes me happy."

Ron turned to eye Draco speculatively. After a while he reluctantly stuck out his hand, "When you hurt her I'm going to come after you."

Draco looked at his hand and eventually reached out to shake it. "Next time you put your hands on her I _will_ take them off." Both boys nodded in grudging agreement to get along.

"Thank you," she said to them both, taking their threats for what they were, the boy version of a truce.

"Oh good!" a dreamy voice said from the entryway, "Ron's back."

"Hi, Luna." they all called out greetings to the girl as she walked toward the tree with an armful of presents.

"Here," Ron said quickly and reached out to take the precarious tower of gifts, "Let me help you with those."

"Thanks, Ronald." Luna said with a wide smile that caused Ron's face to start turning a color that matched his hair, "Happy Christmas."

_Well isn't that interesting, _Hermione thought with a smirk.

"Happy Christmas," Ron said shyly as he put the presents under the tree.

"Well," Draco said, "since we're all here now, and apparently I won't be killing Weasley, should we open presents?"

The others all started sorting the gifts and making piles for each of them as Draco leaned in, "You're doomed," he said softly in her ear and goosebumps broke out across her neck, "Now that you've admitted it I will never let you go."

Feeling a twinge of fear at what would happened when he regained his memories she turned into his arms and buried her face in his neck.

"I really hope you mean that."

XXX

Draco felt her sudden spike of anxiety and the first day they'd met ran through his mind. He knew whatever the reason she'd had for being evasive about why they weren't friends had something to do with her current fear. He needed to figure out what it was that caused her to believe he was going to cast her aside any moment. Because otherwise she wouldn't truly believe that it was never going to happen.

He meant it when he said he wasn't letting her go, no matter what he remembered about their past. He didn't want to invade her mind, _but, _he thought, _I have no compunction about invading Potter's privacy. _Looking down at the way she was curled into him he decided if he hadn't figured it out by tomorrow night he would get the answer that way.

"Ok enough with the mushy stuff," Weasley called loudly, "I might have to accept it but I don't want to see it."

Hermione pulled out of his arms and mock glared at her friend. "Oh can it, Ron. I seem to remember a lot of disgusting PDA being shoved in our face when you were with 'Lav Lav' so you can just deal." Draco almost laughed with the others at the horrified look on the red head's face.

"Oh, that was low, Hermione," Weasley said, "You already know I plead temporary insanity in that case." This time he did laugh and they all settled in and started opening their gifts.

"Oh, thank you!" Luna said happily at the set of silver earrings all shaped like different vegetables.

"I figured these ones wouldn't rot." Draco said with a smile.

He'd gotten Potter two box seats to the next Quiddich World Cup. "I'm assuming you'll use the second ticket for Weasley," he drawled unenthusiastically, "Although I suppose I could hope you'll meet a girl by then."

The messy haired boy laughed causing Weasley to exclaim rather loudly, "No way! You are not taking some girl to the Quiddich World Cup over me. I'll disown you."

Hermione's gasp brought everyone's attention to the small velvet box she was holding. With a look of shocked wonderment she pulled the large heart shaped diamond out of the box by it's chain. Luna made an appreciative murmur as it sparkled in the lights from the tree. "Blimey." Weasley muttered and Potter just shook his head and smiled.

"Oh, Draco it's beautiful," she said in stunned appreciation.

"I'm glad you like it." he replied honestly while she attached the clasp behind her neck.

He'd guessed her favorite present correctly though, as she only took enough time to lay the first edition of The Count of Monte Cristo reverently on the coffee table before launching herself into his arms.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!' she exclaimed in glee before rushing back to gently examine her prize. "That's what you bought in Hogsmeade that you looked so thoroughly pleased about wasn't it?" she asked in awe, "I've been eyeing it longingly for years every time I go to the bookstore. It's the only thing in there that doesn't have a price tag. It must have cost a fortune!" she finished a bit contritely as if she were contemplating telling him it was too much and he should take it back.

"Don't concern yourself with that, Angel," he said seriously, "The look on your face was well worth it. And I would have paid double for the way you threw yourself into my arms."

The licentious gleam that twinkled in her eye caught him by surprise. "You don't have to pay for that." she said wickedly.

"Ok, that's enough of that," Ron broke in, "Seriously, Mione, seeing you like that is just... creepy."

She threw one of the couch pillows at him and looked back at Draco. "Hey, you didn't open your presents."

He looked down, surprised, to where she had gestured and found a pile of presents with his name on them. He honestly hadn't been expecting anything.

He picked up the one from Luna and smiled when he opened the oddly wrapped box to find what looked to be a large red marble that said 'Nargle Detector' across the middle. "It glows when Nargles are in your brain," she said helpfully and then frowned a bit when it lit up. "Oh dear."

From Potter he got a practice snitch. "So you might have a chance against me this year," he said with a grin.

He thanked them both before reaching down to pick up the small box from Hermione. He opened it to find a silver ring engraved with gaelic on the inside.

**~T****á mo chroí istigh ionat~ ** 'My heart is within you'

"It's connected to me." Hermione said a bit shyly, "So you'll always be able to find me... no matter what happens. You just have to concentrate on me and it will take you to where I am."

His heart leapt at her words. He had heard of these before. They were called locator stones and they could be made out of anything, although the spell was incredibly complicated. This gift was not something you gave out lightly. To give him means to access her location at any time for the rest of his life meant that she wanted him for more than just a little while.

He walked over to where she sat and knelt down in front of her. "Thank you, Angel," he said, taking her hands in his and trying to show her with his eyes how much he meant it, "You are the best present I have ever received."

XXX

Hermione blushed in embarrassed pleasure at his words. She was glad he understood what the gift had meant so she didn't have to explain it to him. A small twinge of sadness filled her at the reason she had thought of it though.

She fully expected Draco to leave her when he regained his memories. She knew he wasn't evil and he wouldn't be joining the Death Eaters but how could he want to stay with her after the way she had tricked him? He would be furious and he had every right to leave. She just wanted him to have a way of changing his mind if he ever decided to forgive her, and with the way the Death Eater attacks had been escalating she wasn't sure how much longer they would be at Hogwarts. There would come a time when she, Harry and Ron would have to leave to concentrate on the war. And she feared that time was coming soon.

She pushed away the unpleasant thoughts as he leaned in to kiss her softly. Pressing forward to deepen the kiss, she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and heard a groan rumble from his throat. The moment was broken shortly thereafter by a bombardment of pillows raining down on them.

She turned to see three pairs of innocent eyes smiling at her. "Oh, that was ill advised," Draco said and she heard Luna squeal as pillows started flying back at them.

And that was how the great Christmas pillow war began.

It was Draco and Hermione against Harry, Luna and Ron. Although Luna quickly changed sides when she launched a pillow at an unsuspecting Ron, which started a free for all as he retaliated. They continued until they couldn't breath from laughing so hard and one by one, collapsed in exhausted piles on the floor.

"Well," Draco said panting, "I know I can't say for sure, but I think that was a first for me."

The five of them spent the rest of the day together. The boys played a game of 'seekers quidditch', which was basically just a contest to see who caught the snitch first without any of the other aspects of the sport, while Luna and Hermione cheered them on from the stands. They had Christmas dinner together in their common room and then they all changed into their pajamas to sit in front of the fire with hot cocoa. It was nearly midnight before everyone left and Hermione smiled at the sight of Ron stumbling through the portrait as he watched Luna walking away.


	10. Chapter 10

Draco watched her smiling at her friends as they left. Her robe had slipped off her shoulder numerous times that evening, offering him tempting glimpses of green silk. His mouth had gone dry the first time it had happened and he realized what she was wearing under the flannel.

Scenes from this morning and that mind blowing dream had been tormenting him all day and now that they were finally alone he stopped trying to force them away. Walking up behind her quietly as the portrait closed, he gripped her hips and leaned in so his breath tickled her ear.

"Last chance to run, Angel," he delighted at the shiver of awareness that went through her, "I can't promise I won't chase you, but if you go now you might have a chance. Once I take you, you will never be able to escape me."

Her answer was to lean back into his chest and he hid his smile of triumph in her hair. He spun her quickly to face him and backed her up against the portrait door. Peeling the sides of her robe open slowly and watching it slide it down her shoulders, he inhaled sharply at the sight of her leanly curved body covered only by the scrap of green silk he'd bought her. The overwhelming urge to claim her pulsed through his blood.

His lips captured hers in a searing kiss and the small sounds of pleasure coming from her throat almost made him embarrass himself. The way she was clinging to him and the feel of her nails digging into his skin were dissolving his control. One of his hands tangled in her hair, tugging gently to expose more of her neck as his lips left hers to blaze a trail down the column of her throat. He could feel her pulse racing as he scraped his teeth lightly across the point where her neck met her shoulder and the way she shuddered ripped a groan from him. He pulled away and tried to take a deep breath. _Get yourself under control, _he thought desperately.

"I will not take you for the first time up against the door." he said more to himself than to her.

XXX

Hermione barely had time to think, _Why not?_ before she was swept effortlessly into Draco's arms. She registered that he was headed to his room and felt a little thrill at being taken to his bed. When he reached his destination, he laid her down and then stood as if to take in the sight of her reclining in his domain.

She felt her face flush at his intense perusal and then all thought was suspended as he pulled his shirt over his head and the sight of his flawlessly sculpted chest stole her breath.

A smug smirk graced his features at her obvious ogling but she couldn't stop. He was beautiful. An ethereal vision with his pale gleaming skin and disheveled white gold hair. He climbed up her body to ensnare her lips with his and she gave herself fully to sensation.

Everywhere his hands went, fire trailed in their wake and she was being burned alive. His lips left hers to press open mouthed kissed along her throat and collar bone and she arched her back, giving him easier access to her suddenly aching breasts. He didn't tease her as he had in her dream and she had a brief moment of clarity to be thankful when he closed his mouth around her nipple, before the combined feeling of wet silk and his tongue clouded her vision.

He had her writhing beneath him before he lifted his head and returned to ravish her lips. His hands continued their exploration of her body and she felt him groan into her mouth as his fingers traced a path up her thigh and realized she wasn't wearing anything under her nightgown. Breaking the kiss and muttering something about killing him, he struggled to slow his breathing as she watched in fascination.

She had done this to him. Hermione Granger had reduced Draco Malfoy to a trembling mass of heated intensity on the edge of control. She felt deliciously powerful for a moment before his fingers brushed lightly against her core and she was rendered incapable of coherent thought. He skillfully stroked her most sensitive flesh until she was begging for his possession.

XXX

The sounds of pleading tumbling from her lips was his undoing. He quickly divested himself of the rest of his clothing and settled between her silky thighs, the hem of her nightgown rising as her legs parted in welcome. It took all the control he had left to slide into her slowly, especially with the way she was writhing beneath him, and he thought he would die from the pleasure. He gripped her hip firmly to stop her motion so he could retain some semblance of his dignity.

"Stay still," he growled against her throat and to his surprise she instantly obeyed. Thoughts of the way she had dreamed of him dominating her and demanding her surrender had his blood boiling.

The darker part of his nature took over and he thrust into her forcefully, slow and gentle no longer an option. Her moan of pleasure had him repeating the motion. Again and again he claimed her. There was no finesse, no gentle caressing and soft whispers as he had planned, just raw all consuming passion burning them both alive.

She seemed to revel in the fierceness of his possession, screaming his name as she careened over the edge of completion, taking him with her.

He lay panting against her neck, feeling her heart beat slowly start to reclaim it's natural rhythm and little aftershocks of pleasure shudder through her. Rolling to his back, he pulled her with him so she was curled into his side. She tangled one of her legs in his and tucked her head under his chin, her palm resting against his heart.

"I love you." The sleepy whisper was soothing to his conscience.

"Good." He felt her smile against his chest before she fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione woke wrapped around Draco Malfoy for the second time in as many days, but this time it did not come as a shock.

Her body instantly responded to his nearness and she blushed a bit at the memory of how she had begged him to take her. And oh how he'd taken her.

A tingling sensation pooled low in her stomach just thinking about it. She lifted her head and saw him staring down at her, wearing a very satisfied smile.

"Good morning, Angel."

She bit her lip with a shy smile, "Good morning."

She had just gathered the courage to lean in for a kiss when Harry's voice rang out from across the common room.

"Hermione are you up?"

She heard him knocking at her door and she blushed again, this time mortified at the thought of Harry finding her in Draco's bed. Beside the fact that she had nothing to wear but this nightgown, which she was unwilling to wear in front of anyone but him. Draco seemed to guess the nature of her dilemma and laughed softly at her predicament.

"It's not funny," she hissed a bit panicky, "Do you want him to see me in this?" she gestured towards the skimpy neglige, "Because I really don't, and short of me walking out of here with your blanket wrapped around me like a big sign that says 'I just had sex' I don't see a way out of it."

His gaze darkened slightly at the mention of Harry seeing her in the nightgown and he reached for his wand on the nightstand. With a flick in her direction and a muttered, "**Non Evidens" **she found herself invisible. _Holy hell, _she thought startled. That was a very complex bit of magic.

"There," he replied with a teasing smile, "Now you can retain your modesty and I won't have to gouge out Potter's eyes. I've set it to reverse in one minute."

"How did you do that?" she asked in awe. Even Harry couldn't master that spell. It was why he still used the cloak.

"I don't know," Draco replied with a shrug, "It feels very routine, like I've done it a lot."

Harry's knocking grew louder, shaking her from her thoughts.

"Oh! I'd better go before he breaks down the door."

She slipped quietly from the room and walked towards her bedroom, careful to avoid running into Harry. _Crap, _she thought when she reached her destination, _How am I supposed to get in without him seeing me open the door?_

Draco's voice called out a greeting to Harry from across the room and her friend turned to respond. _Glad one of us had the sense to think of that._

"Hey, Malfoy, is Hermione in there?" she heard Harry say as she slowly crept into her room, "I've been knocking but she won't answer."

She quickly threw on some pajama pants and a sweater just in time to see her reflection return in the mirror. Draco was more powerful than any of them had known. She pulled open her door and Harry's relieved smile met her.

"There you are! Didn't you hear me knocking?"

She blushed a bit which caused Draco to smirk. "I was still asleep. I didn't hear until just now."

"Oh," Harry looked a little sheepish, "I didn't mean to wake you. You're usually up by now."

Her replied, "I was up a bit late last night," had Draco snickering into his hand and her blush deepened.

"Well, I came to see if you wanted to go back to Hogsmeade today. I want to go to Honeydukes and use some of my gift parchment. Ron completely cleaned out my stash while he was here."

She shook her head and smiled as she could easily imagine that being the case.

"Sure," her eyes searched out Draco's, "Will you come with us?"

"I'll go anywhere you are, Angel."

This time it was Harry's turn to roll his eyes and she elbowed him before returning to her room to change. As she was dressing for the walk through the snow she was assaulted, and not for the first time, by the need to tell Draco the truth. With it came the feeling of the lip lock charm binding her to silence.

_Damn their suspicious hides,_ she thought, uncharacteristically angry with her fellow order members. She was in love with Draco and as he obviously wasn't a death eater he had the right to know what they'd been doing.

_You really should have told him before you slept with him,_ her conscience needled her. She felt awful, even thought she had been expressly forbidden and charmed not to divulge any information until the Order voted on it. _I'll tell them tonight at the meeting,_ she resolved, _I won't be a part of deceiving him anymore._

Feeling a little better she pulled on her gloves and walked out to meet the boys.


	12. Chapter 12

Hermione had seemed a bit off all day.

She kept looking at him as if she wanted to speak and then her eyes would cloud with resignation and she'd look away. He had a feeling it was about his past and he had to stomp down the urge to look into Potter's mind to get the information. He wanted her to trust him enough to tell him herself, but he was running out of patience.

They were sitting at a small cafe, enjoying a quick lunch before braving the snow to return to the castle. Draco had finished his meal and was watching her have a heated debate with Potter about the merits of planning ahead vs 'winging it with ill advised notions of bravado'. He decided now was a good time to slip away to buy her the rare book preservation kit he'd seen at the bookshop.

"I'll be right back, Angel," he said with a smile when she finally took a breath, "I forgot I wanted to get one thing before we leave."

She eyed him suspiciously as he stood and he tried his best to look innocent.

"If you come back here with another present for me we're going to have to have a discussion about the tendency you have for grossly overestimating the appropriate amount of funds one should spend on gifts."

The statement ripped a laugh from him and he smiled down in genuine amusement at her frowning face. "Angel, you say the most ridiculous things."

He kissed her cheek before quickly making his escape. He made it to the bookstore and back before the debate had ended and he smiled at the joy that lit her face before it was quickly smothered and she tried unsuccessfully to look stern.

"It's not a present," he said with a laugh, "See? It's not wrapped."

She shook her head at him and they were standing to leave when a succession of apparation cracks rang out through the quiet village. He turned to see a group of men dressed in black robes and masks had appeared in the street.

"Death Eaters!" The cry rang out from multiple patrons as they started to run towards the back entrance of the cafe. He turned to see Hermione's face pale and he was suddenly reminded of Luna's strange statement in the catalog room.

"What's a Death Eater?" he asked as Hermione pulled him along with the rest of the people fleeing in terror. As they ducked into the alleyway behind the restaurant he saw her taking a deep breath after seeing there was no more of the black garbed men lurking in the shadows.

"Hermione what the hell is going on?"

The look on her face was scaring him. With another deep breath and a muttered curse about a 'stupid charm' she replied. "A Death Eater is a person who thinks people born to non magical families, like me, don't deserve their power. And they take rather... extreme measures to demonstrate their beliefs. They are followers of a truly evil wizard who wants to 'cleanse the magical world' as he puts it, by way of mass genocide."

Her words felt like ice shards piercing his chest. He stood unnaturally still as he processed the fact that Luna thought he was somehow connected to... _that. _The second part of her statement clicked in his mind and his eyes shot up to meet Potter's.

"That's who wants to kill you," he said and Hermione gasped, "That day in the hospital when Hermione told me your name the first thing that popped into my head was that someone very powerful wanted you dead. Why? What's so special about you?"

Potter met his gaze and almost seemed to be studying him before he responded. "I'm the only one who can kill him."

Suddenly his mother's statement made sense. Harry Potter was supposed to kill whoever was behind these 'Death Eaters' and if he failed a lot of people, _like Hermione, _his mind interjected painfully, would be killed. That's why he'd known he would die to protect the messy haired boy in front of him. He couldn't let that happen.

"Well then, lucky for you," he said, "the second thing that popped into my head was that I was supposed to help you." Despite the situation he saw Hermione smile tremulously and he reached for her hand. "Don't worry, Angel. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"No, Draco, you can't let them see you," she said a bit desperately, "You have to hide while we figure out how to fight our way out of this."

"Absolutely not!" he was outraged at the idea, "I will not cower in some corner while you fight for your life, Angel. I will be where I belong, in between you and anyone who dares try to hurt you."

The light that shone from her eyes was heartening, but the way she worried at her lip with her teeth made him think she was going to argue with him.

"I'm so sorry, Draco," she said softly and her eyes darted to something over his left shoulder.

He didn't have time to block the spell that shot from Potter's wand straight into his back and then everything went black.

XXX

He came to behind a dumpster at the edge of the alley. Shaking off the last of the spell he searched for his suddenly devious angel and her annoying sidekick.

His anger at being knocked out was quickly extinguished as he came around the corner and caught sight of them. They were standing side by side with their backs to the wall, fighting off a group of masked assailants. Harry was bleeding from one temple but Hermione looked thankfully unharmed.

He would be having a serious discussion with her later about the appropriate amount of danger he would allow her to place herself in.

Before he could reach her a burst of red light hit her in the chest and he heard her sharp sound of pain before she straightened her shoulders and raised her wand to resume the fight. Rage and fear combined with his magic and his vision took on a red tint. _No one will touch her again. _

With a wave of his hand a nearby window blew out, raining shards of glass down on the mass of attackers and leaving Harry and Hermione untouched. The startled and partially bleeding group turned to look at him and Hermione's eyes lit up in both chagrin and relief.

Before the black garbed throng could regroup he stepped in front of the wounded pair and glared a challenge at the masked intruders.

"I'll give you one warning," his voice was icy with ill concealed rage, "Leave now relatively unharmed or limp away later."

Stunned silence met his declaration before the man in front scoffed, "What are you playing at, Draco? Step aside." The fact that the man seemed to know him and expected him to be on their side wouldn't register until later. Right now he was lost to the fury of seeing Hermione hurt.

"Good," he snarled and a flicker of unease passed through the man's eyes, "I'd rather hoped you'd be difficult."

Another wave of his hand sent the entire group hurtling backwards out of the alley. They slammed into the brick storefront on the other side of the street and he stalked after them. The ones who escaped being knocked unconscious staggered to their feet and, already injured from the glass that still protruded awkwardly from various parts of their bodies, decided to fight another day. They apparated away taking their fallen comrades with them.

He turned swiftly back to where Hermione stood, staring at him in shocked wonder.

XXX

The pain that ripped through Hermione almost brought her to her knees. She'd only been able to block one of the two curses and she was paying for her mistake. She forced herself to straighten and continue the fight. If she fell Harry would be doomed and she couldn't let that happen.

When she saw Draco turn the corner Hermione was torn between relief and regret. She knew they were grossly outnumbered and they had been backed into a dead end, but she didn't want Draco to be in danger as well. He had no idea what he was dealing with and she feared he would be hurt.

The look of cold fury that covered his face stopped her heart and her fears for his safety were quickly diminished. With barely a flick of his wrist, and not a sound, the window next to them exploded. She flinched, expecting the pain of glass cutting into her skin at any moment, only to watch, mesmerized, as it completely bypassed her and Harry, focusing on the Death Eaters in front of them.

_Holy blistering hell. _

Draco was far more powerful than any of them realized.

She heard him throw out his challenge and could feel his magic crackling in the air around them. For the first time since they'd been backed into this wall she felt like they were going to get out of this alive.

The man in front, who she suspected was Goyle Sr., spoke up and although she couldn't see it, she knew a dangerous smile accompanied Draco's next words. Then, with another negligent flick of his wrist, Draco sent the entire group flying. She was frozen in shock at the depth of his abilities and barely registered the fact that the Death Eaters had disapparated.

He turned back to face her and she forgot to breathe. The picture he made standing in the alleyway, power radiating from him, snow falling all around him, his hair disheveled and his eyes still flashing fire reminded her of an avenging angel. His gaze softened when it fell on her and suddenly he was at her side.

"Are you alright?" His eyes roamed over her, as if to check for injuries and his hand stroked her face gently.

"I'm fine," she managed to reassure him leaning in to his caress. _But you might not be, _she added silently, closing her eyes as if to shut out the reality of what had just happened.

"I'm fine too, if anyone cares," Harry drawled lightly, clearly guessing her thoughts and trying to break the tension, "Just bleeding from my head is all. I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"Sorry, Potter," Draco seemed just as willing to lighten the mood, "I know you're supposed to save the world and all, but Hermione will always be more important to me."

"So I gathered," Harry replied, "What with the exploding windows and the Death Eater acrobatics and all. How the hell did you do that anyway?"

"I really don't know."

XXX

They made it back to the castle without further incident and Harry was promptly fixed up by Madam Pomfrey. Draco hadn't let go of her hand since they'd left the alley. He also hadn't said a word.

The fear she'd seen in his eyes before the rage had taken over was back and he seemed to be constantly reassuring himself that she was still alright. As soon as they reached the safety of their common room she saw his shoulders slump in relief and then the anger took over once more.

"What the hell were you doing out there?" he exploded, "Do you have any idea what I went through when I saw that I was too far away to protect you from that Death Eater's curse? I could have prevented that entire situation! Why in the name of all that is holy did you knock me out?!"

Hermione's frustration at the lip lock charm had never been more excruciating. Not being able to tell him the truth was killing her.

"I was trying to protect you-" she started and was immediately cut off.

"I don't need your protection, I'm supposed to protect you!"

Her frustration boiled over into anger and it spilled out before she could stop it.

"Well first of all, I didn't know you were freaking Superman-" his confused look increased her ire. "He's a muggle hero with powers way beyond normal- but that's not the point!" she continued, "The fact that they even saw you at all is what has done the most damage." Her voice broke as the anger was replaced by guilt and fear. He had no idea the magnitude of what he'd just done.

"Why was it so important that they not see me?" He asked gently, apparently sensing her distress.

She ground her teeth as tears formed in her eyes from the strain of fighting the charm. Finally she gave up, burying her face in his chest and weeping softly.

XXX

"She can't tell you," Potter said drawing Draco's attention from the girl in his arms.

"Why the bloody hell not?"

"She's under a lip lock charm. She literally can't tell you anything." Draco's eyes narrowed and Potter shook his head. "And don't bother with the legilimency. They've put a mind block on both of us as well."

"Who's they?"

Potter shook his head again. "Look, we have to go meet with them tonight and after what you just did for us we'll be able to get them to remove the charm."

"Fine," Draco pulled Hermione back to look at her, "Please stop crying, Angel," he said softly reaching up to wipe a tear from her cheek, "I still don't have a clue what's going on but I know it's not your fault. I'll come with you to your meeting and when it's over you can tell me everything."

Her eyes grew pained again and he knew he wasn't going to like what she said next.

"You can't come with us."

Hs temper got the better of him again.

"If you think you're going out without me after what just happened, you're out of your bloody mind!"

"It's not that I don't want to take you, it's that you physically can't come with us!" she rushed to explain, "The meeting place is secret and we aren't the secret keepers so we can't bring you in. But I will be perfectly safe I promise. Dumbledore is going with us and no one would dare an attack on Dumbledore. Please, Draco," Her eyes turned imploring, "Trust me just a little bit longer." She bit her lip and his anger melted at her sincere request.

"You're killing me here, Angel," he said with a sigh, "Alright, I'll stay here, but as soon as you get back you're going to explain in detail what the hell is going on here, and then you are not allowed to leave my side until my heart stops palpitating at the memory of you being hit by that curse."

Her watery smile preceded her response. "Deal."

"I'm warning you now, Angel, it's going to be a very long time before that happens."


	13. Chapter 13

Hermione didn't normally shout, but in this case she made an exception.

"I mean it! Either you release this charm or I will find a way to break it!" she eyed the other members of the Order of the Phoenix across the large table in the dining room of number 12 Grimmauld Place. "I am not negotiating this with you. He has no idea the magnitude of what he's just done, but we do. He's obviously not a Death Eater so there has to be a reason why he's acted the way he has all these years. The most logical conclusion is that they are holding something over him to coerce him into cooperating." A few of the people at the table squirmed uncomfortably as they realized what that meant.

"And now, he's completely blown his cover _saving our lives_!" she indicated Harry and then stressed her point further, "Who knows what awful thing has been set in motion now? I refuse to be a part of deceiving him any longer. Either be the people I think you are, or I will use my considerable knowledge to find a way to tell him anyway."

Having said all she felt she could, Hermione sat back down in her chair and waited for their decision.

"Well," Dumbledore said from the head of the table, "It seems that a vote is called for." He swept his gaze around the room. "All those in favor of telling young Mr. Malfoy the truth and offering him asylum within the Order, raise your wands."

Hermione smiled thankfully at Harry, who was the first to lift his wand with hers. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled merrily as he too raised his wand. One by one, every member at the table followed suit and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," she said to them all, "I really wasn't looking forward to trying to break Snape's magic." A few laughs were heard and Hermione started to stand again. "Well, if that's all for tonight I'd really like to get back to the castle."

Harry's hand stopped her from leaving and she looked down at him questioningly.

"Hermione did you forget what tonight is?" She narrowed her eyes and was about to ask him what he was talking about when it hit her.

"No." she declared adamantly, "Absolutely not! You can't possibly expect me to do that now. Please Harry, I just can't."

He looked contrite but didn't let go of her arm.

"We have to, Mione, you know that. It's too important to blow off." Her heart sunk as she realized he was right. "We'll stage a fight and break it off tonight alright?" he continued as he saw her resignation, "You won't have to do it anymore. We'll find someone to replace you."

A long red main of hair appeared from behind the doorway as Ginny Weasley popped her head into the room.

"I'll do it."

Hermione would have been amused at Harry's wolfish grin and Molly Weasley's immediate sputtering refusal if it had been any other time. As it was she just hung her head.

The plan had seemed ingenious at first. Now she wished she'd never thought of it.

It was simple really. There were some members of the Order who couldn't always make it to meetings and they had needed a way to pass information to them without fear of it being intercepted. A code seemed the most logical way of dealing with it except owls were being snatched from the sky and letters were no longer a reliable way of communicating. The only thing that always got through was the newspapers, but they couldn't exactly take out an add so they were at a loss.

It had hit her as she was passing a group of Hufflepuff girls who were pouring over the latest 'Boy who lived' article and giggling ridiculously. The papers loved anything to do with Harry and were always trying to get a new spin on old material. The only thing that sold more papers than Harry were stories of famous witch and wizard's romantic relationships.

_Well, _Hermione had thought, _Why don't we give them something new to talk about?_

And that was how Harry had acquired a girlfriend.

They came up with a code of seemingly innocent love phrases and used them in highly public places where the magical version of the paparazzi were sure to overhear. The papers would print it up and the information would be passed right under Voldemort's nose, with no one being the wiser. They'd had to plant someone at the Daily Prophet to make sure a Rita Skeeter imitator didn't use a quick quotes quill and muddle everything up, but that was the only snag they'd run into.

She had been the logical choice for the job at the time, and so it was that everyone in the wizarding world believed Harry Potter and Hermione Granger to be madly in love.

And they had a 'date' scheduled for tonight.

She groaned as she added another line to her list of things she needed to explain to Draco.

XXX

Draco was pacing the common room floor impatiently. _How long does a bloody secret meeting last?_ He turned on his heel for the umpteenth time in the past hour and, in his frustration, caught his foot on the edge of the rug, causing him to tumble towards the ground. His head came into contact with the corner of the coffee table and he had just enough time to be embarrassed at his clumsiness before the world went black.

He woke with a splitting pain in his head and a bit of dried blood pooling on the carpet. _Glad I'm not at the Manor, _he thought grogily, _Father would crucio me for staining the rug._

He jerked upright at the thought. He remembered his father. Suddenly everything came crashing down on him at once. His entire life slammed back into his mind with a dizzying force.

He remembered practicing his spells for hours, exhausting himself only to do it again the next day. He remembered his mother's kind smile and the fear he always felt at leaving her alone with his father. He remembered why everyone thought he was going to become a Death Eater.

He remembered every awful thing he'd ever said or done to Hermione.

He groaned into his hands. No wonder she'd said they hadn't been friends. He was surprised she'd even lowered herself to talk to him after the way he'd been forced to act.

He had to see her. Now.

He slammed his fist into the table in frustration when he remembered that he didn't know where she was... and stared at his finger where the ring she'd given him glinted in the firelight.

XXX

Draco appeared in the middle of the street right outside the cafe they's eaten lunch at. _Odd place for a secret meeting. _He started to push his way through the door when he saw something that caused his heart to shrivel and another memory to surface.

Hermione was dressed in a black cocktail dress that came to her knees. Her hair was piled on top of her head and the diamond he'd given her gleamed in the light from the candle on their table. She was also holding hands with Potter. She laughed as he leaned in to whisper in her ear and his chest constricted.

_Hermione and Potter are a couple._

According to the papers they had been together for the better part of this year and appeared to be madly in love.

_Then what the hell was she doing with m- _the thought broke off as the only logical conclusion hit him in the gut. _It had been an act._

Dumbledore had been trying to get in his mind for months but he hadn't trusted to old man enough to reveal his true thoughts. Apparently he'd decided he was tired of waiting. He remembered the day he'd fallen from his broomstick. That part was true but he hadn't hit his head, and unless you want to call being obliviated by that meddling old fool 'amnesia', he hadn't really had that either.

The sight of Hermione smiling at Potter almost the same way she'd smiled at him earlier that day was too much for him and he quickly backed away from the cafe. The worst part of it all was that he couldn't really blame her.

After the way he'd treated her she had absolutely no reason to feel any remorse for using him. It was a masterful plan really. Using his feelings for her was the best way for them to get the information they needed. If it hadn't been crushing him he would have been proud. He wouldn't have thought she had it in her to be so very Slytherin.

He needed to get out of here. He was still going to help them defeat Voldemort, but he didn't think he was capable of watching her with Potter, so he was going to have to disappear for a while.

_But first, _he thought with an angry determination, _a certain meddling old fool owes me a favor._

If he had stayed for just one minute longer he would have seen the fight that broke up England's favorite couple.

XXX

"Are you absolutely certain you won't stay?" Dumbledore asked the young man in front of him.

"What? To be trapped in your precious 'Headquarters' and forced to endure the presence of people who distrust me?" Draco snorted derisively, "No thanks. I'll help you, old man, but I'll do it in my own way. Just remember what you promised me."

The old headmaster sighed in dismay as he watched the boy stalk from his office.

XXX

The very next day the papers ran an article about the mysterious disappearance of Narcissa Malfoy.

_No one seems to have a clue as to her whereabouts and her husband, Lucius Malfoy, was reported to have gone into a murderous rage when he came home and found her gone. He was committed to Azkaban prison for assault and destruction of property on Albus Dumbledore and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, respectively. Insiders say that he might undergo psychiatric treatment while incarcerated, as he claims that Dumbledore, respected headmaster and recipient of the Order of Merlin First Class, was somehow responsible for his wife's disappearance._

Hermione put the paper down and the first real smile she'd had since returning to the castle to find Draco gone lifted her lips. _At least she's safe. _Hermione had suspected his mother had something to do with Draco's reasons for going along with his father's plans. She was glad they had been able to avoid any unfortunate consequences to his actions in the alley.

Morning sunlight was filtering in through the common room window and her heart twisted in worry for the thousandth time. _Where is he? _

She'd rushed home last night, grateful she was finally able to tell him everything and a little worried at how he was going to react, only to find his room empty. She'd searched the entire castle before returning to their common room to wait for him, certain he would be back soon. She'd waited. And waited. Growing steadily more worried as the night went on. Now that it was officially morning she was getting frantic. Deciding to go talk to Dumbledore, she pulled her weary frame out of the armchair where she had spent her sleepless night and made her way to his office.

XXX

"I'm afraid he's gone, my dear." Dumbledore's words pierced her heart.

"What do you mean gone?" she asked frantically, "Where did he go? When will he be back? I didn't even get a chance to tell him the truth!"

Dumbledore's eyes raised alarmingly, "You didn't tell him?"

"I didn't get the chance," she replied, "He was already gone when I returned from dinner. Sir, what's going on?"

"I'm afraid that if you didn't tell him," the headmaster said gravely, "he remembered on his own. He seemed rather upset last night when he came to tell me that he was leaving. I tried to convince him to stay but he was adamant about it, only wanting me to promise to rescue his mother and offer her our protection."

Lead was settling in Hermione's stomach, getting heavier with each word. _If he remembered on his own, _she thought despondently,_ he would naturally think we had tricked him._

She had to find him. Racing from the headmaster's office and ignoring his call, she ran to her room to gather some things.


	14. Chapter 14

Harry stood in the doorway, watching his best friend cry silently into her pillow and, not for the first time, worried about her health.

It had been three months since they'd stopped her from running out into the snow to search for Draco.

He'd had to physically restrain her until Madam Pomfrey had gotten there with a magical sedative. They'd all been afraid she wouldn't listen to reason when she woke up, and honestly Harry wasn't sure they'd made the right decision anymore.

They had managed to make her understand that she couldn't just go running off by herself with Death Eater attacks escalating and no real idea where to start, but only because Harry had pulled the war card. She couldn't leave them when it was so close to coming to a fight. And now Harry was watching her fade away.

The time to leave school had come quickly after Draco's disappearance and they, he, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville, had come to stay at headquarters to prepare for the war they knew was approaching swiftly. He'd honestly thought that she would bounce back. That she would be sad for a while and then pick herself up and move on, but he'd been horribly wrong.

She'd gotten to the point where she could pretend to be fine with everyone but him. He always saw the pain behind her smiles, he always heard the false ring to her laugh, and only he knew she still cried herself to sleep every night.

She ate only because he reminded her to and slept only when he put her in bed. She spent every waking hour consumed in research, reading everything she could get her hands on that she thought would help in the final battle. "That's what I'm here for isn't it?" she would ask bitterly when anyone suggested she take a break.

She hadn't taken off the diamond around her neck for a moment and he often found her in the morning, clutching that book to her chest as she slept.

He closed her door quietly and as he crept back to his room he knew he needed to hurry with his plan.

XXX

Draco had become a ghost. A very well informed ghost.

Hermione listened to the latest message he had somehow managed to get to them and her heart skipped at the danger she knew he must have been in to find out that particular bit of information. No one knew where he was or had even caught a glimpse of him since he had gone underground, but they knew where he had been by the type of information they received every week. She took a bit of comfort in the fact that if they couldn't find him, then neither could the Death Eaters.

She swallowed the tears that always tried to fall when his messages came. She was sure she was doing a good job of pretending to be alright, and she really didn't want to go back the period of time when everyone had cast her pitying looks and asked her if she was ok every ten seconds.

God, she missed him.

She hadn't thought she could feel this empty, but as soon as she had let Harry convince her that she couldn't go out looking for Draco it was like a part of her had died. And she knew she would never be whole again.

He wasn't coming back and she couldn't blame him. As soon as he'd gotten his memories back he would have thought what everyone else thought, that she was in love with Harry. She also had an overwhelming suspicion that he had seen them at the cafe somehow. When she told Harry this he denied even the possibility of it but it didn't really matter if he had or hadn't. The fact that they were together was very well known, he didn't have to see it to believe it was true.

She knew him well enough to know that his mind would have immediately seen the potential for it to have been a very well laid plan to trick him into divulging his true allegiance. She found it ironic that he'd left because he thought she had done the very thing she had refused to do when Harry had first suggested it.

She excused herself to escape to her room, knowing that she would lose the fight against her tears today.


	15. Chapter 15

Two weeks later, Draco was sitting by the open window in the shrieking shack, staring at where Hermione's ring would be if he could see it. He hadn't been able to bring himself to take it off even thought he knew it was stupid to hold on to it.

He'd been almost constantly invisible since he had left Hogwarts and it had saved his life more than once. It had also kept anyone from finding him. Even when they tracked him to his current hiding place they looked right past him and assumed they had just missed him.

Potter was getting increasingly persistent thought, and he knew he would have to move again soon. The suspicious light that had been in his eyes the last time he'd been here told Draco it was time to go. He scanned the room one last time, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything, turned to leave, and stopped dead at the sight of Potter in the doorway.

_Speak of the devil, _he thought bitterly. He should have left hours ago but he had gotten caught up in his memories of Hermione and had lost track of the time.

He started to back away slowly, thinking he would just tuck himself into a corner until the annoying git gave up and left again, when it happened.

Potter threw a handful of what he suspected was flour directly into his face, causing two things to happen simultaneously. He was suddenly very visible, and a sneeze erupted from his nose. He dropped his invisibility charm and glared at the boy in front of him.

"Damn it Potter, what the hell are you playing at?" he growled angrily, brushing flour out of his hair.

"I knew you were here!" Potter exclaimed happily, completely ignoring the glare sent his way.

"Good for you," Draco drawled, "Now get out of my way."

Harry stepped to block his path further. "Not likely. I've been looking for you for months and you need to listen to me for a second before you disappear again."

"Spare me your apologies and your false concern Potter. I get why you did it. I hope you and Hermione are very happy together, I really do, but I'm not going to hang around to watch more displays like the one at the cafe that night when you were supposed to be at your secret meeting."

Potter's mouth dropped in a very familiar expression. "You saw us? Hermione was right."

"I can't imagine that to be a rare occurrence so I don't see why it would shock you."

Potter didn't seem to hear him as his face turned from shock to dismay. "Oh, man she's gonna kill me. She didn't really want to do it in the first place and I practically had to force her that last time."

Draco's wand was pointed at the boy's throat before the words had even stopped resounding on the walls.

"Choose your next words very carefully, Potter," his voice dripped icy menace, "I don't care if you are supposed to save the world, if you have coerced Hermione into... being with you, so help me god I will kill you."

Potter's eyes widened as the implications of what he'd said sank in. "Oh! No! Of course not!" he sputtered, "That's... I would never... that's just wrong."

"Then explain yourself, before my temper gets the best of you."

"Look," Potter said, "It wasn't real ok? Hermione and I were never together. It was just how we passed information." Draco's look must have conveyed his disbelief. "It would be easier for you to just look for yourself instead of trying to explain it."

The messy haired boy took a small step back and pointed towards his head, "Go ahead. You need to know how 'happy' she's been since you left."

Draco lowered his wand and eyed Potter warily. Hope was slithering its way into his soul and he couldn't resist the offer. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated on lowering his walls and searched out Potter's mind.

He saw Hermione refusing to use his feelings for her against him. He saw the details of the plan that had her pretending to be Potter's girlfriend. He saw that what Potter had 'forced' her to do was to go along with the date they'd had planned. He saw her yelling at the Order members about telling him the truth weather they liked it or not.

His heart surged with renewed warmth... until what came next broke it all over again.

He saw Hermione. Scratching at Potter's face and yelling to be set free so she could search for him. Being carried to bed after exhausting herself, screaming in grief. Pretending to smile at her friends so they wouldn't worry about her. Curled into a ball, weeping into her pillow when she thought she was alone.

He jerked out of Potter's mind and stumbled into a chair. He'd done that to her. She looked so... broken. And it was his fault. _How could I have been so wrong?_

"Do you see now?" Potter said softly, "That's why I've been searching for you. I can't bear to see her like that anymore."

Draco's mind snapped into focus and all that mattered was getting to her. He ignored Potter's next words and had just enough time to pray that she forgave him before he gripped his ring and disappeared.

XXX

Hermione dried her eyes and forced herself to leave her room. There was work to be done and the war wasn't going to go away just because she was falling apart.

Draco's last message had been two weeks ago and she was getting worried. It had never been that long since they'd heard from him before. And to make matters worse, Harry had been disappearing for hours at a time and wouldn't tell her what he was doing. She was afraid he was going to leave as well, in some misguided notion of nobility, as if he could fight the whole world by himself.

She wiped away the last tear before she walked into the dinning room and managed a smile when Molly offered her lunch. _That should get Harry off my back, _she thought wearily, _now I can say I actually do manage to feed myself without his assistance._

She had just pulled out her chair when a flicker of motion by the doorway caught her eye. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight that greeted her. She closed her eyes for a moment, forcing air into her lungs before opening them again.

He was still there.

The tears she had just stopped came flooding back and suddenly, as she watched him walking towards her, everything that she wanted to say to him over the past three months started pouring out of her in rapid succession.

"Oh, god Draco I'm so sorry. Harry and I aren't really together and I meant everything I said to you on Christmas and I wanted to tell you everything so badly but I couldn't-"

He cut her off gently, pressing a finger to her lips.

"I'm the one who's sorry, Angel," hearing his voice again was like a balm to her soul, "You asked me to trust you and I failed." His eyes filled with regret. "I caused you so much pain and I will never forgive myself for that. I should have confronted you and demanded an explanation instead of jumping to the obvious conclusion-"

This time it was her who stopped his words.

"You thought what anyone would have thought, what we wanted everyone to think. You couldn't have possibly guessed at the truth." They both just stared at each other for a moment. Drinking in the sight of what they had been denied for so long.

"Are you really here?" she breathed softly, after what could have been an eternity or just a moment.

"I'm here, Angel," Draco's knuckles traced a path across her cheek before threading through the hair at the nape of her neck and his gaze turned serious, "and I will never leave your side again unless you order me away. I love you."

Her smile seared into his soul before it turned just a bit teasing. "Good."

XXX


	16. Epilogue

**Author's Note: I discovered this story was in desperate need of revision so I have updated most of the chapters to fix all the cringe worthy errors I could find and re posted the epilogue. I hope you enjoyed the improved version!**

XXX

5 Years Later...

Malfoy Manor had never looked quite this resplendent.

Even though this was the third wedding in six months that the house had seen, Narcissa had spectacularly outdone herself. After Lucius had been given a life sentence along with the rest of the remaining Death Eaters when Voldemort fell, Narcissa was able to obtain the rights to all wealth, properties and titles associated with the Malfoy name. As much as the manor had been a place of fear and despair, it was now doubly so a place of warmth and welcome where friends and family had taken to gathering over the years. Which is why it had been such a popular wedding venue as of late.

The three events would have all taken place that summer, but the current bride had her heart set on a Christmas Eve wedding; and so it was that Malfoy Manor had been turned into a breathtaking winter wonderland, the traditional white wedding decorations interspersed with Yule festiveness.

The old headmaster took his seat in the front row of the assembly next to a few of his old students and waited for the bride to appear. He caught Draco's eye who was standing next to the minister, also eagerly awaiting his bride, and winked. The blond man smiled and nodded in greeting.

A hush fell over the crowd as the doors to the ballroom opened and Hermione stepped onto the staircase. She was beaming and as Dumbledore looked between her and Draco, their eyes locked on each other as if no one else were in the room, he felt a surge of pride.

"I'm surprised she's even standing up at this point," Ginny Potter whispered from his left, "she didn't sleep at all last night."

"Jitters?" Dumbledore inquired softly.

"Nope," Luna Weasley replied from his other side, "She snuck out of her room to see Draco. We stayed with her last night and the flibbergems in the garden woke me up at around four o'clock. That's their preferred feeding time you know. Anyway, I went to check on her and found her bed empty."

"Then we went to wake up the boys to help us find her and Harry and Ron found that Draco was missing as well." Ginny added.

"Yah," Ron cut in with a smile, "and when we found them it really cemented the fact that he's perfect for her. With any other couple you would assume they were... you know... but we found those two in the library of all places, having a debate about some muggle book they'd read." He shook his head in amusement.

Dumbledore smiled knowingly, "Yes, I had anticipated that his literary knowledge would be helpful in wooing Miss Granger. That's why I left alone the memories of the books he'd read when I obliviated him."

His four former students stared at him with wide eyes.

"You mean you set them up on purpose?" Harry choked, "I thought you obliviated him to see which side he was on."

"Oh, getting the rest of you the proof of his loyalties was a major benefit, to be sure," the old headmaster replied, "but I admit it was not my main goal. I already knew which side Mr. Malfoy was on. This evening's event is what I was aiming for."

The boy who lived eyed him speculatively. "Sir, are you sure you weren't a Slytherin?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Honestly Harry, I really don't know."

"How on earth do you not know which house you were in?"

"Well you see, I didn't exactly give the hat a chance to sort me. I informed it of where I was going to be placed and I'm afraid I issued a few threats to insure my wishes were followed. I was a bit rash in my youth you know." His smile was not repentant.

"But why?"

The headmaster's eyes twinkled merrily, "Oh, I believe a girl had something to do with it." The four friends followed his gaze across the isle to where Professor McGonagall sat, and the disapproving stare she sent his way didn't quite hide the smile that betrayed her amusement.

Their thoughts were interrupted as Hermione drew closer to the front of the room. She took her place by Draco's side and as the happy couple said their vows, Dumbledore waited in anticipation.

_Almost complete, _he thought happily and was the only one in the room not surprised when a cloud of glittering red fog began winding it's way around the newlyweds as they shared their first kiss.

The crowd gasped, most of them never having witnessed such a momentous event, but all of them knowing what it was. A soul bond.

When a witch and wizard are destined to be together, their souls merge, sharing their magic and tying them to each other for life. It is a very rare and powerful magic, the stuff of fairy tales to young witches and wizards the world over.

The guests were frozen in wonderment for a moment before a great cheer rang out through the ballroom. With the loud revelry, only Harry heard Dumbledore's soft sigh of satisfaction.

"Sir," he said, "why do I get the feeling you aren't surprised?"

The old headmaster smiled brilliantly. "You caught me there, Harry. I have been waiting for that for a very long time."

"But how could you have possibly known that was going to happen?"

"I have my sources," he replied serenely, "I have my sources.

XXX

And somewhere, deep within the Ministry of Magic, a prophecy ball gleamed brightly for a moment before levitating to the section marked "Fulfilled".

XXX

**Author's note: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. **

**I know I took some liberties with the time table making McGonagall the reason Dumbledore wanted to be in Gryffindor but I thought it was cute =)**


End file.
